


Lost, but Not Forgotten

by Prometheas_Mother



Category: Khan Noonien Singh - Fandom, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Cunnilingus, F/M, Fellatio, Fingerfucking, Hate Sex, Porn With Plot, Public Sex, mild dominance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 01:42:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8470738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prometheas_Mother/pseuds/Prometheas_Mother
Summary: Kaya MacGivers goes searching for her lost sister and gets more than she bargained for.





	1. Chapter 1

The shuddering of the ship and blaring alarms brought Kaya scurrying up from the engine room. On the bridge, lights were blaring at the unexpected pull from warp speed. Gravitational forces shook the ship as it crashed back into normal space-time.

Kaya dove for the navigational console. The view screen showed a dusty ball of a planet looming before her. _Fuck, where had that thing come from?_ She swore. There were no planets located here according to the navigational charts. She should have had smooth sailing for the next few minutes until the auto-pilot dropped her out of warp near Ceti Alpha V.

She maneuvered the ship deftly, pulling it from its trajectory into the planet’s atmosphere and setting it into a high geosynchronous orbit around the dust ball. The small cargo carrier reacted sluggishly but eventually responded to her commands. She was safe for the moment. Time to take stock and see what was wrong.

Kaya pulled up the sensors and called the solar system live mapping grid. She scanned the map, her brow creasing with a frown as she compared her readings with the official star chart. There were supposed to be seven planets in this solar system. Her readings showed only six. Strangely, this planet hovered in the orbits between where planets five and six should have been. _Shit, have I gone to the wrong solar system?_

But no, the first four planets lined up with Ceti Alpha orbiting parameters and the last matched the seventh. Instead of finding two planets – one lush and green, the other a rocky sphere – she was now faced with one. _What the hell had happened here?_

Some intra-solar system calamity, it would seem, and her stomach dropped. If Ceti Alpha V was gone, so were her hopes of finding her sister. She could have come all this way for nothing. Might as well have stayed home and mourned her sister’s death as she had for the last seven years. Cheaper than spending all her savings and calling in every favor she had just to come out to this planet on the ass end of the galaxy. Safer too.

If Starfleet found out what she knew…

She quashed the thought and tried to focus on the matter at hand. Starfleet hadn’t caught her yet. With a little luck, and the help of some illegal pharmaceuticals, Scotty had been so drunk when he told her the truth about Marla that he wouldn’t remember doing it.

OK, stuck here in the middle of nowhere with an apparently dead planet. A living sister to be found. Only one option really: scan the entire freaking planet and see if anything came up as alive. From the stories she’d heard and read, Khan Noonien Singh was a clever bastard. If she was looking at the remains of Ceti Alpha V, there was a chance that he had gotten his people to safety. If she was looking at the remains of Ceti Alpha VI, well, that would be something she dealt with when the time came.

She set her enhanced sensors to scan the planet for any signs of life. It would take a while with all of the interference from the dust. Might as well start running astrophysical algorithms to see if she could determine if this planet’s orbit made it more likely to be planet number five or number six.

 

Visions of Marla as she remembered her danced in Kaya’s head as she tossed in the narrow bunk. She should be sleeping. But the long waiting for the sensors to finish their scan of the planet gave her too much time to think. She preferred action. She hated this interminable time for introspection.

Marla: always the pretty one, always the obedient one. The pride of the family. So good natured that she had always endeavored to see the best in her older sister, had tried to understand her escapades. Never criticized. Oh, it would have been quite the laugh to tell her parents that Marla had run off with some genetically engineered super-human rather than staying on board the _Enterprise_. It would have almost been worth it to be the ‘good’ child for once. So maybe she hadn’t joined Starfleet like her sister and maybe she used her engineering intellect for some questionable clients; at least she hadn’t participated in a mutiny. Yet.

But she wasn’t here to make her shitty parents pay. She was here for Marla. For the little sister who always had her back. For her best friend and confidante. If Marla wanted to shack up with some Übermensch, that was her business. But she wanted to make sure she had the resources she needed to survive on a backwater planet without support from Starfleet. The cargo hold full of goods attested to that.

_Starfleet bastards_ , she swore as she flipped onto her other shoulder. How could they just abandon her sister on a planet without any coms or supplies? How did they expect a group of people to survive on an uninhabited planet without even the most basic of comforts and safety? They might as well have executed Marla for treason. That at least would have been a quick death. Ceti Alpha V would only be a crucible of starvation and disease leading to a slow and painful end. How could they not have seen that?

The beeping alarm of her sensor array had her jumping from the cot and flying to the bridge. Finally, a result! Positive or negative, it would at least put an end to this waiting game she was playing.

She swiveled into the science console and held her breath before opening the readings. She was almost positive this was Ceti Alpha V from the retrograde analyses she had performed. But had the sensors found life down there? Or was it a dead planet? She was well within the window for the sensor scan to finish. She could be looking at a wasteland here and was now having it confirmed.

With a grunt of disgust, Kaya popped open the readings. Enough waiting.

And there it was. A red blotch of life pulsing near the equator of the planet. Strong and lasting enough to discount it as a blip in the background radiation. Small enough to have taken the sensors multiple scans to confirm its existence. Perhaps large enough to be a human habitation, but perhaps not. It would require investigation. Kaya checked the local time on the planet. It was midday there even though it was the middle of her night rotation. Perfect.

Kaya bolted for the transporter room, elated that her sister might still be alive down there. Of course, the sensors couldn’t do more than read a plus/minus at this distance, so she could just be beaming down to look at some odd lifeform that survived in the swirling dust of the planet.

Or it could be a colony of super-humans. That brought Kaya up short. She turned for the medical bay instead. There was no such thing as being too cautious. She may just be going for a look around, but it was best to be prepared for any eventuality. If she ran into hostiles, she intended to be ready.

Subcutaneous transponder encrypted and implanted, she headed back to the transporter room to shrug into the bulky life suit. It was Starfleet issue – a concession she had made just in case she found her sister on the planet. A Ferengi vac suit would have fit her better, but it would scare the bejesus out of Marla if she thought they were being approached by enemies. This way if Marla spotted her she would at least recognize the tailed insignia and know not to kill the new arrival on sight.

Hopefully. Kaya huffed as she finished sealing the vac suit and running through the QC controls. It was unlikely that Starfleet would be a welcome sight among the colony given the circumstances of their arrival, but it was her best chance.

She beamed down slightly within a kilometer of the site. No need to beam right into the unknown. The swirling dust was challenging by itself. Kaya blinked and pulled up the virtual interface so it scrolled across the upper quadrant of her left eye. Another bit of tech that had freaked out the family and made her unsuitable for life in Starfleet: she loved the virtual mod she had installed in her orbital socket to interface with tech. It was a Romulan development. Completely illegal and useful as all hell. No holding a bulky tricorder in one hand and trying to read it through the rapidly deteriorating view of her screen. She had direct access to its readings with it clipped to her belt.

Definitely life form readings up ahead. Unresolvable as anything more than a smudge of heat at this distance with the particulate interference. Monitoring the readings carefully she trekked closer to the heat signature. It resolved into a chain of blocky structures at about the same time she saw the buildings visually. They were a smudge on the horizon, blurred by the dusty wind.

_Found them!_ Kaya would have jumped for joy if the bulky suit let her. Instead she hurried her steps through the dunes trying not to slip too much in the grit. She reached the structures nearly an hour later, slipping and hungry and tired. She leaned her helmet against the wall of the first structure she came to and took a breather. Hiking through the remains of Ceti Alpha V was not for the faint of heart.

Now there was just the small matter of getting the inhabitants of these structures to let her inside. She tried multiple com channels, but got no response. Gritting her teeth in anger, she surmised that the _Enterprise_ hadn’t even left these refugees with as much as a communicator. She cursed for not having the forethought to install an ancient radio transmitter in the suit. It was going to have to be the hard way, then. She started sliding along the structures, looking for any seam that could lead to a door.

She found a promising seam on the third building. This structure was bigger than the rest, the sides slightly curved as they jutted from the sand. Was this the belly of the _Botany Bay_ she was touching? She reverently stroked the metal. This ship had made it out of the Earth’s gravitational well and into space with chips and transistors, maybe even with some vacuum tubes still lacing the communications network. Jet propulsion, solid propellants. She longed to explore the belly of this beast, find if there were engines still operating and then take them apart to see how these intrepid people had built such a magnificent ship using such primitive technology.

She shook her head to break her love affair with the metal. No matter how much the ancient technology called, she was here for Marla. Once Marla was safe and supplied, she would ask her to see the engines if it was appropriate. She examined the seam, running her gloved hands along the sides looking for some sort of buzzer or scanner. She found a large button on the left hand side of the seam and pressed it. Nothing happened. She pressed it longer, heard nothing. Then pushed multiple times before giving up and banging on the door repeatedly.

She was about to give up and go back to her cargo ship to get a radio transmitter when the doors began to open with a reverberating grinding she could feel through her suit. _Success!_ Any minute and she would see Marla. As soon as the door had slid far enough to the left, she squeezed the bulk of her suit through the entrance and into a tight enclosed space.

Kaya blinked in the dim light, trying to clean the dirt off her visor and camera so she could see her surroundings. All she did was smear grit across both. Before she could do more than that, the door ground closed behind her and a loud whirring filled the room. The air rushed around her forcibly, sucking the sand from her suit and, she assumed, pushing it back out into the storm. She pulled up her virtual screen when the noise died down. The air was breathable if still a bit heavy on the particulate side. All in all, this chamber was an efficient yet primitive airlock between the dust storm of the planet outside and the inhabitants within. She was impressed.

Kaya loosened her helmet and removed it to breathe in stale air. There was just enough room in the cubicle for her to take her helmet off and hold it at her side. The feeble light left her with little to investigate. She could see a crude sink to her right and a shower head hung from the wall on the left. Hooks on the wall. The rest of the room was dark metal with no care for aesthetics. Her boots crunched on the few remaining sand particles as she shifted from foot to foot. They knew she was here. What were they waiting for?

 

Khan stared at the Starfleet woman through the view screen, his knuckle cracking the only sign of his fury. Starfleet had the nerve to show themselves here? After all this time? After all of the damage had already been done to his people? Had they come now to wreak havoc on those who remained? Euthanize them as they had tried on Earth three hundred years ago? And why send this weak woman as an emissary? Did they think him soft? Easily persuaded by the softer sex because of his relationship with Marla? His heart squeezed at the thought. No. There was nothing of softness left in him even before they had thawed him 80,000 light years from home.

He played the game to its fullest, leaving Starfleet to wait in the grim antechamber until she was obviously frustrated. Not a good diplomat, this one, Khan reflected as he watched the frown crease her face. Was this the best Starfleet could do? Send a flunky to treat with him? Of course it was. It matched their lack of respect for him and his people. Khan silently waited until Starfleet was about to start banging on the exit and nodded once to Joachim.

His second opened the door and Khan reached one arm into the antechamber and hauled Starfleet in effortlessly by the collar of her suit. The ‘whuff’ of surprise and the clattering of her helmet on the metal floor brought him a small measure of satisfaction. He let her go when she was still off balance and she sprawled at his feet on the floor. Khan lifted his boot and pressed it on Starfleet’s chest to keep her down. She struggled for a moment and then sagged. But her voice was clear and confident when she spoke, green eyes meeting his unflinchingly.

“I’m Kaya MacGivers, and I’m here to see my sister Marla.” Fury spiked through Khan and he pressed harder with his boot, the plastic starting to buckle under the pressure.

“Marla’s sister is not Starfleet,” Khan explained conversationally. “Try another lie.”

“I’m not Starfleet,” She grunted, the pressure of his boot finally pinching her inside the vac suit. “It’s just the equipment.”

“I don’t believe you,” Khan continued smoothly, a cold smile flickering across his features as he pressed harder. He heard a crack as the suit gave way and this time the woman did struggle. She looked like a turtle stuck on her back, wiggling helplessly beneath the pressure of his boot. If she thought he would tolerate lies regarding his wife, there was much worse than his boot on her chest waiting for her.

“Bring Marla here, she will verify that it’s me,” The woman wheezed trying to stay calm as he pressed the air out of her lungs.

“I’m afraid not,” Khan said with mock pity.

“You must be Khan, Marla’s husband,” She managed beneath the pressure. “You will know all her secrets then. I can prove that I’m her sister.”

“Oh, I am all ears,” Khan offered expansively, removing his boot from her chest. Wisely, the woman did not move from her place at his feet. Instead she took a deep breath and offered:

“When Marla was twelve she told me that she loved history because that was the only place where she could find men that she respected. Men that she could love.” Starfleet offered.

“Anyone could deduce that,” Khan chuckled lightly. “Try harder. Let’s see how good your intel is.”

“She told me during Starfleet camp. I had Denebian Flu, and I was running a fever. She was trying to distract me. I loved technology, she loved history. She was trying to convince me that history wasn’t so bad. It was the middle of the night, just the two of us in Medical. It was after that summer that she started painting. Historical figures only.”

Khan raised an eyebrow, considering the words, the detail. It was as Marla had described her revelation that she knew she was destined for a great man. The start of her search for someone to quell her longing.

“Look at me,” The woman insisted. “You can see the resemblance.”

“Marla’s beauty…” Khan began, but was cut off with a huff.

“Yes, yes. Marla is a great beauty, and I am not. I’ve heard it before. I’m like the rough copy, the artist’s notes before he refined them. I get it. Look deeper, Khan. Or is your great intellect unable to do that?”

Khan laughed loud and long at the woman’s frustration. Yes, it was possible that this was Marla’s sister. The description fit, from the unnatural burgundy hair to the small bump of an ocular implant disguised as a diamond on her left temple. And the resemblance between the two women was crude but present. He considered the option plausible more because of the turn of phrase the woman had used to compare herself to Marla more than any of the similarities. Physical qualities were easily faked. But turns of phrase were harder, especially ones that only came up with respect to a ne’er-do-well sister. It had matched Marla’s own metaphor when she described how people saw the sisters. Still, it wasn’t nearly enough to gain his trust or his belief.

The Starfleet woman must have sensed it.

“Even if you don’t believe that I’m Marla’s sister, I can still help you. Just let me see Marla.” She pleaded.

“No.” Khan refused simply.

“I have supplies. I can trade with you for the opportunity to see her.” She shot back, and Khan smiled at the woman’s slip.

“So you are alone,” He deduced pleasantly. “Alone and at our mercy.” He gestured to the room crowded with his people. Joachim smiled mildly down at the woman with him. “What is there to stop us from taking your cargo and your ship and leaving you here to rot?” He crooned. He lifted his head at Joachim. Joachim bodily dragged the woman up by the ruined suit. It hung off her awkwardly with its structure compromised. Joachim grabbed her arms by the wrist and twisted them back so Starfleet had to stand on her toes to stay out of pain. It was a move calculated to throw her off balance, to make her recognize her powerlessness before him.

“I’m not completely at your mercy,” She glared back defiantly. “Do you think I’m stupid enough to walk into the home of the great Khan Noonien Singh without back up?”

Khan raised an eyebrow in curiosity, the gentle smile never leaving his face.

“Do tell, Starfleet,” Khan encouraged, beginning to admire this woman for her sheer nerve. Not many had managed to stand before Khan and defy him openly. He relished the challenge she presented.

“I’m not Starfleet,” She spat back, ignoring his question. “I’m Kaya MacGivers, and I am here to see my sister Marla.” She insisted.

“I control who sees Marla,” Khan with a soft shake of his head. “And you have done nothing that would encourage me to let you see her.” He crowded into her personal space and loomed over her. She was now trapped between two large men, held hostage and helpless. He could see the sweat beading her brow despite her bravado. She was brave, and she was smart enough to recognize how much danger she was in. Good. He despised easy prey.

“Now why don’t we discuss your ship?” He offered casually.

 

_Oh, fuck me!_ Kaya thought as she struggled surreptitiously against the blonde man’s grip. It was like trying to break steel even though she had the feeling that he was barely exerting his strength to hold her captive. This wasn’t going at all like she’d planned. Open hostility she expected, but she was counting on Marla to be there to vouch for her and smooth this interaction. Where the hell was she? How was she to negotiate successfully with a man as angry and intelligent as Khan without her sister there to mediate?

She took a deep breath and met Khan’s gaze as he crowded close to her. Despite her precarious position she couldn’t help but admire the man her sister had chosen as husband. Gorgeous didn’t even begin to describe him. From the strong jaw to the piercing eyes to the long salt-and-pepper hair framing his face, he looked every inch the epitome of man. But it was more than that. He was stunning, charismatic, an aura of authority pulsing off him in waves that left her with little doubt that he had indeed ruled a quarter of Earth in his own time. His magnetism made her want to serve him despite her better judgement.

He was a very dangerous enemy.

Kaya ran through all of her options. Khan already knew she was alone thanks to her stupid slip in pronouns. What options did that leave her with? Refuse to talk until she saw Marla? She discarded that plan immediately. Khan was using that as leverage to get her to reveal her secrets, and he had the power here. The full truth was an option, but would leave her useless and abandoned on a world she couldn’t survive in. Discard that idea. The best path was somewhere in the middle: tell as much of the truth she could safely manage and make a gesture of good will in hopes of winning some time to gain Khan’s trust.

“I have a cargo ship in orbit,” She admitted, slouching in mock defeat, bowing her head. That was a bad idea. Now she was staring at the broad expanse of Khan’s half-bared chest. Some evil part of her wanted to taste that skin on her tongue. She destroyed the impulse. It was one thing to admire her sister’s husband. It was another thing entirely to lust after him. Especially when she was trussed up and powerless. He could do anything to her. The thrill of lust at the idea was harder to squash, but she managed. _Dammit._ She was a bad sister.

“Capacity? Maximum speed?” Khan demanded, smiling at her apparent collapse.

“Fifty metric tons. Warp 4.” She replied, still playing at defeat. Let him have the information. It would make the realization that he couldn’t get to it without her cooperation all the sweeter.

Khan unclipped the tricorder from her belt and scanned it, running through the readings. He examined the rest of the equipment hanging askew from her belt cursorily.

“You have no communicator.” He observed. “You are using your virtual interface to communicate with the ship.”

“See, I am Kaya?” She insisted, hoping for a reprieve. “Marla must have told you about the implant. Do you know how rare those are in a human? How illegal? I’m no Starfleet flunky. I’m Marla’s sister.”

“Keep trying,” Khan chuckled as he scanned her with the tricorder. “Perhaps you will eventually manage to say something that makes me believe your chosen identity. But if Starfleet wanted to infiltrate our home, the first thing they would have given you was all the tech needed to pass for Kaya.”

She blew her breath out in frustration. Kaya knew he was right. How on earth was she to convince him that she was Marla’s sister without Marla? At least it seemed that Marla had told Khan about her. She wasn’t working at a complete deficit. It was only a matter of finding the right key, the right trigger, to convince this man.

Khan flipped the tricorder off when he was done scanning her. Certainly he had found the ocular implant and the servos in her right hand and wrist that gave her extra strength and dexterity. Another illegal modification that was incredibly useful when working in tight spots.

“Now you will take me to your ship,” He announced easily.

“No,” She enunciated clearly. “I will not. And you can’t make me without losing access to the ship yourself.”

“Do explain, my dear.” Khan’s voice was deadly with sweetness. Kaya suppressed a shiver of fear.

“You are correct in your supposition that I can communicate with my ship virtually,” She admitted. “But I also have an encrypted subcutaneous transponder implanted. It is keyed to my DNA and metabolism. It provides one transport to the ship and one to the surface. If I am not willing, you cannot use it. And you cannot communicate with the ship without my cooperation either.”

“We can… encourage… you to cooperate,” Khan’s smile twisted with the first hint of cruelty she had seen so far. She was annoying him, and that was dangerous.

“I’m afraid you cannot,” Kaya countered. “I destroyed all communication with the ship before I beamed down. If you cause too much physical damage or remove the transponder then it will not work. It is keyed to my metabolism and pain receptors as well as my DNA.”

“Clever,” Khan complimented her. “But I believe you underestimate us. We will simply remove the transponder and recode it. Then we will no longer have need of you.”

Kaya nodded as if considering. Nodding nonchalantly while being held on her toes was a challenge, but she managed to pull it off.

“The DNA signature is hard coded into the transponder. I’m not even sure that Marla could get it to work,” She pointed out, but then conceded. “I don’t doubt the abilities of your people. You are genetically enhanced and hyper-intelligent. I have no doubt that you would find a way to use the transponder given enough time. But I have a better idea.”

“You do?” Khan almost purred in delight.

“Give me a chance to prove myself,” Kaya requested. “In exchange I will beam down one metric ton of supplies. If I have not convinced you of my identity and intentions within say, two weeks, then I will voluntarily take you to my ship.”

“And what are your intentions?” Khan asked with that same dangerously gentle tone. The smooth voice, the accent rolling off his tongue gave Kaya shivers that were far too pleasant. She would not be attracted to this man, she told herself heatedly. He was her sister’s husband.

“To see Marla safe and happy,” Kaya admitted. “In whatever manner that takes.”

Khan’s face hardened into a mask of anger that Kaya didn’t understand. Her request was completely reasonable as far as she could tell. What had she said to make him drop the mask of pleasantness he had worn until now?

“It is a deal, Starfleet,” He said on a sneer. “If you can prove that you are valuable to us within two weeks, we will not kill you. Now, beam down your supplies.”

Kaya shivered with apprehension as Khan moved away from her. This deal had just taken a turn for the worst. She had been bargaining her ship and expertise. Khan had just upped the ante by bargaining with her life.

She saw no way out of it. If this was what it took to see Marla, then this is what she would do. Surely she could be useful to this straggling group of refugees. She surveyed the room for the first time. The two dozen or so people were scruffy and dirty, on the lean side but not underfed. Despite the rough surroundings they were all extraordinarily beautiful: tall, well-built, athletic. But there would be few comforts living in a place like this. The supplies would be a good gesture. And she was a wiz with tech. Surely there was something she could do that would prove that she had value to this group, even if two weeks was a terribly short time in which to accomplish it.

“Do you have a preferred place to receive your goods?” Kaya asked rather than dwell on the finer points of her deal. Action, not fear, would see her through this. And Marla. Marla wouldn’t let Khan kill her sister. She just had to get her husband to let her _see_ her.

“Northwest quadrant. Near the hangar doors.” Khan supplied, returning the tricorder with its coordinates already embedded. Kaya gave a curt nod as she shrugged free of her captors hold. She blinked twice to access the barely-virtual interface of the transponder and pulled up the transport command. She selected one of the groups of survival containers she had put together for the colony. She had been prepared for any eventuality: starvation, disease, maintenance. She selected the maintenance package. One third each of medical, food, and supplies. She beamed it down to the coordinates she pulled from the tricorder.

Damn, this man Khan was intelligent. He couldn’t have spent much time with a tricorder in his few days aboard the Enterprise, yet he handled it like a pro. He made even her ease with tech seem unexceptional. That spiked her fear, but she forced it down. She was no dummy. She’d been courted for early entrance into the Academy based on her aptitudes, but the psych evals had shown a level of disrespect for authority that had made even Starfleet think twice before admitting her. She would hold her own here.

“You’re goods have been delivered,” She announced, handing the tricorder back to Khan. He could keep it as part of her good will gesture.

“Get out of that suit and come with us,” Khan ordered, and she complied. “Janna, stay with her.” He gestured to a regal blonde with Eastern European ancestry who immediately detached from the rest of the group and joined her.

Janna’s face was inscrutable as she pulled the remains of the vac suit from her. She stacked the pieces in a neat pile by the door. “No wasting.” Was all she said when Kaya raised an eyebrow. Then they were off to the hangar, Kaya struggling to keep up.

 

“How is there so little sand in here?” Kaya asked as she watched the people haul in their cache of goods in the small hangar bay. Janna gave a brief smile of pride.

“Barrier walls,” She supplied. “We made them from the ship. They blow the sand over and around the most valuable points of the colony. We even have calm behind them from time to time.”

Barrier walls. Clever. But then what had she expected from a group of super-humans? Of course they would have found efficient ways of surviving in this hostile environment. She worried briefly if she was a fool to have made this bargain with Khan. She may be nearly as smart as one genetically engineered human, but what could she possibly add to a collective who had been working together for years? Precious little, she feared.

To prove she wasn’t useless, she marched over to one of the large cargo boxes and pulled it across the room. It took her entire strength, even her enhance hand, to move what the others were hauling easily across the room. But at least she would prove that she was no slouch and that she wasn’t afraid of hard work. She was positioning a third crate near the others when Khan’s voice rumbled in her ear.

“Try harder, Little One, or you won’t live,” He said with amusement, his breath puffing across her bare neck. She shuddered with fear and another unwanted thrill of desire as the warm air moved across her sensitive skin. _Damn him_ , she swore. He knew exactly what he was doing to her by pushing small intimacies. Weakening her, easing her into his care. Setting her up to betray Marla and prove she was an imposter. Well, he could try all he wanted. She would never betray her sister, and she wasn’t a double-agent. The last laugh would be hers.

The final load was being hauled into the hangar bay when a crackling voice broke over them through the ancient coms.

“Barrier wall breach at Section 2A. I repeat, Barrier wall breach at Section 2A. All available personnel report.”

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Kaya stood in open-mouthed horror as Section 2A trembled around her. They were on the windward side of the colony. The entire structure shook under the full force of the sandstorm. She now understood why “Barrier wall breach” required all personnel. If the wall wasn’t repaired soon, she had no doubt that the entire structure would uproot and crumble away in the wind.

Khan’s people were sliding into protective gear and heading out the small door, not even bothering with the vacuum system on this side of the habitat. Sand devils whirled in their wakes as they tramped into the fierce storm. Kaya hesitated. She was technically ‘available personnel’, but she wasn’t sure what she could do. As she watched the last person duck out covered head to toe in protective gear she finally glanced around the structure. It was a living area. A small boy was sucking his thumb in a corner far from the exit. He couldn’t be more than four years old.

 _Holy shit! They had children here?_ And that decided her. She wouldn’t stand by and let a child lose his only home, or worse, just because she was uncertain of her role. She ran to the rack and did her best to swaddle herself in one of the sets of gear the people apparently used for outdoor work. The layers of cloth were numerous and clumsy. The head gear was a metal mesh that hampered her vision as she pushed it down over her braid.

She clomped out into the fray in her Starfleet boots. She was glad for their solid protection as she trailed the last person out the door. The mesh clouded her vision less than she expected and kept the majority of the sand from lashing her sensitive eyes. Again she was impressed by the innovation these people had exhibited under these harsh circumstances.

The wind roared around her in a never-ending screaming vortex as she did her best to make up the distance. She expected the planet to be cold with its lack of direct sunlight, but some perverse form of greenhouse effect left it warm, humid even, outside of her vac suit. Sweat popped up across her skin as she tried to jog through the billowing sand to the crowd of people working at the wall.

This section of the wall had fallen inward towards the habitat. It was still elevated above the ground, though only at an angle of about ten degrees. Its fellows stood nearly upright in the gale force winds providing a windbreak against the seemingly eternal dust storm that blanketed the planet. By the time Kaya arrived, more than a dozen men and women were bodily wrestling the 25-meter long section of wall back up into a standing position. Kaya gasped at the sight. The sheer strength needed to lift a six inch think piece of steel was crazy to contemplate even in calm conditions. How strong must these people be to be performing this task against the sheer wind force working against them?

“Find the clamping mechanism!” She heard Khan’s shout above the howling wind and began scrabbling in the sand along with the others. It was sheer chaos out here. People struggling to hold up the wall while the rest of them frantically dug through the sand looking for some mechanism unknown to her. She started digging anyway, figuring she would know the mechanism if she found it.

“Here!” The woman’s shout rose above the din about three meters from her. Kaya pushed her way into the group to spy a trap door made of smooth steel buried in the sand. The woman pulled the meter-square piece of door open effortlessly and Kaya gasped at the show of brute strength. Another figure appeared with a lantern and ducked their head into the space as others braced to hold the door open.

“It’s off the rails!” The man shouted as he rose from the gap. “The gears have slipped. We need to get it back on.”

“We can’t hold this much longer!” Khan yelled above the screeching wind. “Do it fast.”

“Who has the equipment?” The man shouted, scanning the crowd. There was a moment of embarrassed silence that even Kaya understood. No one had grabbed the equipment in their frantic rush to stabilize the wall. After a moment a lone figure darted back to the door, but Kaya had doubts that they could make it to the habitat and back before the crew holding the wall lost their grip. It was a good five hundred meter trek to the building.

“Let me through!” Kaya struggled against the press of bodies and burst into the small clearing around the compartment. The man lifted the lantern so that its light shown over her form. She was short compared to the graceful super-humans here and her trailing folds of fabric made that deficiency even more obvious.

“I can help!” Kaya insisted as the man covered the entrance. “At least let me try while we wait!” She screamed into the gale. The man hesitated for a moment and then threw a glance over his shoulder at the team wrestling with the wall.

“All of you, go steady the wall. I will stay here and mind the gap,” He commanded. The others took off running and Kaya took that as her opportunity to investigate.

She dropped to the ground and ducked her head into the compartment. It was at least a meter deep and two meters wide. Tight, but completely doable. She pulled her torso out of the hole and maneuvered so she could drop feet first into the hole.

“Hold the lantern over me!” She called as she squatted out of the wind. The man obliged and a weak light filled the area.

Kaya took stock. A cranking axle spanned the two meters in front of her. The crank enabled the colonists to adjust the pitch of the wall to optimize shielding from the wind. It was supposed to interlock with another gear to meet the main section of the toothed barrier wall. But the gear had sprung loose and sat on the ground below the lower axle. It wasn’t an ideal design, but probably the only one the colonists could come up with that gave them the leverage to adjust the walls as needed.

OK, tools would be ideal, but there was still work she could do while she waited. She was terribly conscious of the efforts of the people holding the wall up against the wind. This was a dangerous, precarious situation. She had to work fast if there was any hope of salvaging the wall before the crew gave out.

She spun the axle back to its zero point and placed the toothed gear. It was a heavy kilo in her hand as she spun the axis until it was near the meeting point with the toothed lower edge of the wall where it was sunken into the ground.

Now was the tricky part. Kaya ripped her helmet from her head so she could see better in the dim light. She had to align the gear perfectly with the axle and pop it into place against the corresponding tooth in the barrier wall. Her breath came hard and fast in the relative quiet of the chamber. She needed a crow bar to do this right. Ideally some sort of socket wrench with which to grab the gear and lever it into position.

“Tools?” She called up at the man holding the door open in the storm.

“No sign yet. Can you do it? The wall is starting to waver.” He shouted back.

“I’ll try! Tell them to hold it as steady as they can!” She gulped and hoped the servos in her right hand were up for the task. They were primarily made for applying angular force in small places where the room to maneuver was minimal. But they were strong. Perhaps strong enough to pop the gear back into place if she used her right arm as the lever. It would be a close call: would her arm or the servos break first under the strain?

She aligned the gear with the axle and spun carefully until she was against the barrier wall teeth. No. Not perfect. She realigned the gear and spun it back into position, more careful of how the teeth aligned with the axle and the wall. This time it was there, the gap in the teeth perfectly aligned under the massive weight of the wall pressing down against it. Now for the pop. She grasped the center spindle of the gear with her right hand and extended her arm. She was starting from a low crouch to give herself as much angular momentum as possible as she forced the gear into place. She braced the gear between the axle and the edge of the wall and supported her right elbow with her left hand. She hoped for dear life that her enhanced grip on the gear would be strong enough to pivot the gear into place when she stood.

She used her body as the fulcrum and began a slow rise from her crouch. Her thighs burned but her heightened grip didn’t slip and the gear pushed between the axle and the barrier wall, slowly prying its way between them. She met greater resistance when she was halfway up. The gear was a couple millimeters under the wall and over the axle. She was almost there. She just needed to keep it going. She needed a burst of effort to jam the gear back between the axle and the wall. Stiffening her arm and grunting with the effort she gave a hard shove against the ground and tried to rise. Her elbow nearly buckled. She felt the servos grind in her hand and wrist as they were pushed beyond tolerance. And still she burst upward with all her might.

Kaya was flung from the mechanism with a loud ‘pop!’ For a moment she wasn’t sure if the sound had come from inside her body or out. Pain burst through her elbow, wrist, and hand as she was flung back against the wall of the opening. Her eyes closed as the white bloom of agony spattered across her vision. For a moment she didn’t have the courage to look. Would her hand and wrist still be there attached to the gear but separated from the rest of her arm?

Shouts and cries from outside brought her back to reality. _Oh Dear God, had she failed? Were people dying out there as the wall collapsed?_ Her eyes flew open at the thought and she stared down at the mechanism.

The gear sat placidly between the wall and the axle. Perfectly aligned. Her hand was still, thankfully, attached to her arm and she could feel the servos humming hotly beneath her skin. Not broken, but overdone. Her elbow and shoulder ached from the strain, but it was nothing a hypospray of analgesic wouldn’t fix.

“You did it!” The man cried, thrusting a hand down into the hole. She pulled her helmet back on before grasping his elbow firmly. His grip pulled her swiftly from the ground and back into the slowly blowing sand. She turned to critique the section of barrier wall that now stood on its own providing shelter against the never ending storm.

“Was anyone hurt?” She called above the wind.

“No,” Came the curt reply. But even relative calm on Ceti Alpha V prevented extended conversation. She didn’t take it personally as they headed back to the structures. Once there, Kaya struggled to free herself from the protective gear. She was surprised when strong hands disentangled her from the layers of fabric and pulled her free.

“Thank you,” She replied, nonplussed when she realized that the man who was helping her was her captor from earlier in the day.

“You are welcome,” The blonde man replied. He was as tall and broad as Khan, but younger. Probably even younger than she was.

“I am Joachim,” He said by way of introduction, holding out his hand for her to take in a firm grip. “And I apologize for any discomfort I may have caused you earlier.”

“That’s – It’s forgiven,” Kaya stuttered. “It was a confusing incident.”

“I’m glad you were here to help us with the wall,” He smiled. He radiated handsomeness and perfection and all Kaya could think was: _Hell, were they all this good looking?_

Khan, stripped of his protective gear, came up and grasped Joachim’s shoulder.

“Good work out there,” He complimented his second.

“It was not me,” Joachim frowned. “She repaired the mechanism.” He gestured to Kaya.

Khan frowned down at her, his expression a mixture of mild surprise and disapproval.

“Useful, not valuable,” Khan proclaimed and left.

 

Khan stared over at Starfleet during dinner and tamped down the grudging respect he was building for the woman. Imposter or not, she had brought them the first real food they had in ages. Imposter or not, she had saved them when the barrier wall collapsed. Imposter or not, she was brave and cunning.

Imposter or not… that was the question. He would have to let her see Marla to know the truth. But he was loathe to let Starfleet into his inner sanctum. Loathe to let her near his love.

It was a feast at _Botany Bay_ , a celebration of culinary delights. It may only be rehydrated rations, but it beat roast insects and yeast cakes by a thousand miles. The gift of the food alone was enough to have most of his people trailing to her side. Joachim’s tale of how she had repaired the barrier wall brought her into the fold. Even Janna, his Ice Queen, had warmed to the woman, sitting next to her and babbling happily about the general state of affairs at the colony. Telling of their hardships, their sacrifices, and their triumphs.

Khan was not so easily swayed. He admired Starfleet for their diplomatic acumen, for their cunning. He didn’t put it past them to send an imposter as a spy to monitor the progress of their colony. That all they found was the ruin of his people barely surviving in the wasteland of a dead planet irked him to no end. He was meant to rule. To succeed. Not to merely survive. That Starfleet might know of his failing infuriated him beyond bearing. It was time to find out the truth of the matter.

“Starfleet,” He called out, refusing to use her supposed name. “The time has come. You may see Marla.”

There was a collective gasp from the crowd, and Starfleet jerked her head towards him in surprise.

“Now?” She asked, setting down her utensils and rising from the communal bench.

“Yes, now.” Khan confirmed, rising himself. He came around the table and took her elbow in a tight grip as he led her from the dining room.

It was a circuitous path to his rooms. But that was what happened when one tried to cobble a colony together from the ruined desolation of a living planet. Expediency upon expediency.  Death upon death. Until all that was left was a twisted remnant of what you once thought to build.

The door to his rooms was an old-fashioned pull door. Not the elegant swish of pocket doors driven by automated sensors as he had once dreamed. He felt ashamed of the primitive life he was leading compared to the glory of the twenty-third century and grimaced behind Starfleet’s back as she entered his quarters. Her gloating would be over soon enough, he reminded himself.

He saw the room through Starfleet’s eyes. Ancient, battered furniture placed in niches about the room segmenting small areas for comfort. The long window blinded by a curtain he rarely opened. Lanterns placed strategically to provide light at his desk, reading, and meeting areas. He bent and lit one by the entrance to provide enough light for her to see the room, but not so much as to blind the view from his panoramic window at dusk.

Starfleet paused just inside and stepped to the right. She was examining the room with interest, peering into the dark to see her ‘sister’.

“Marla?” She called out hesitantly. “Are you in here?”

“She can’t hear you,” Khan gritted as he moved to the window.

“Why not?” She asked, perplexed.

“Because she is here,” Khan murmured, pulling back the shades. They attached to a matching set of metal blinds on the outside of the building to protect the windows from the sand. To keep the view clear. To remind him of all he had lost.

“I don’t understand,” Starfleet murmured as she moved to the window. In the dusky purple-pink of twilight two tombstones sat just outside the window. The larger read: “Marla MacGivers Singh, 2209 – 2241; the smaller: Baby David: December 1, 2240 – December 3, 2240.

Khan wasn’t sure what reaction he expected from Starfleet, but it was not the one he got. As realization dawned on the woman she stumbled to the window and then crashed to the floor. Her fingers grasped the thin metal sill until the tips turned white. She hung onto the window as if it were a lifeline whispering “Marla, I’m so sorry. Marla, I’m too late.” Over and over again as tears turned to sobs and then into wracking cries that shook her entire body. They showed no signs of stopping, and Khan had to stop from comforting the woman in her grief.

Oh, it was an Oscar-worthy performance, he scoffed as he watched. Starfleet had trained this one well. So well that part of him resonated with her, found his own grief and mourned for his wife all over again. How could she make three years ago feel like yesterday? Despite recognizing that she was likely an imposter, he felt his own tears burn anew as he witnessed her loss, her desperation as she clawed at the smooth window. He had clawed at the window himself in his darkest hours, begging for her to return to him. Make him whole again.

“You bastard!” She screamed, breaking Khan from his reverie. And she was on him like a banshee, swinging with fists, cutting with her nails as she attacked him. “You did this to her!” She accused between sobs. “You were supposed to keep her safe. Marla always needed someone to keep her safe. You miserable bastard, you piece of shit! You failed!” She repeated over and over as she pummeled him.

Khan let her attack him. Welcomed the bruising of her fists, the feeling of his skin flaying beneath her sharp nails. Yes, this was Kaya, he knew then. And she was here to make him pay for his failure. Failures. Their baby had been born early, injured and sick from the sudden catastrophe that had struck the planet. Battered from the damage Marla took despite their best efforts to protect the child in her womb. Khan had failed them both. And now this woman would exact her retribution. He would let her take it. It was what he deserved.

Finally her blows slowed and then eased. Kaya was leaning on him, arms flung over his shoulders as she wept soft tears against his chest.

“I failed her too,” Kaya admitted, lifting her tear-stained eyes to meet his. She cupped his jaw with her fingertips and smoothed his tears away with her thumbs. He felt the sting of the salt water in the rents she had cut in his cheeks. “They told us she was dead. That you killed her. I didn’t know the truth until six months ago. I came as fast as I could. I didn’t know I was already too late.”

Khan pulled Kaya to him in a tight embrace. Finally, someone who understood his loss, shared his grief. She hugged him back fiercely as her sobs returned. The appeal of solace, of the physical comfort she offered was irresistible. He lifted her and strode to a ragged stuffed chair in the corner. He settled them both into it, Kaya’s leg resting across his lap as she continued to sob. He stroked her hair in its messy plait. Took his own comfort in her nearness as they sat in the near dark.

 

Khan still sat there hours later. The exhausted woman had passed out as her first wave of grief passed. He held Kaya while contemplating the potential threat she represented to him and his people.

He no longer doubted her identity. She was indeed Marla’s sister. No amount of acting acumen could match the raw loss and fury that had burst forth at the sight of her sister’s grave. But that didn’t mean he could simply nullify their bargain and trust her. Seven years was a long time for a person. Especially one who Marla had described as driven by self-interest and the pursuit of the eclectic. There was still the possibility that she worked for Starfleet in exchange for some rare compensation, or that she represented some other nefarious organization that wanted his people for their own designs.

On Earth, he and his people had grown up in captivity. Held by scientists working for an international secret program funded by myriad governments to create the ultimate human being. Once they had broken those bonds, they had vowed to never go back. They would all rather face the harsh realities of Ceti Alpha V with their freedom intact than go back to being property. If he found that she had ulterior motives for coming here that would endanger his people, he would kill Kaya, her relationship to his dead wife notwithstanding. He wouldn’t hesitate.

And he knew nothing of this woman really. Memories from a sister who hadn’t spent more than fifteen minutes with her in over a decade before they came to Ceti Alpha V. Communications sent that spoke more of Marla’s desires and loneliness than of her sister’s motivations. Yes, Marla knew general escapades, but even she admitted that her sister had closed a wall around them to hide from the general disapproval that the Federation would have for her choices and exploits. This woman and her motivations were a complete mystery to him. He would not renege on their bargain until he was certain he could trust her.

Rogue daughter. Illegal implants. Dealings with parties outside of Starfleet and the Federation. There was much he liked about Kaya in principle. But would the true woman be worthy of them as her sister had been? She had thirteen days to prove it.

There was another thing he liked about Kaya as well as he shifted his hips beneath her. She was soft, curvaceous. He had a weakness for that combination. All he had known until well into adulthood were the lithe warrior’s bodies of his fellow genetically engineered females. He still admired them. The tight grip of their thighs as he buried his face between them or rode them hard. The long limbs roped with muscles nearly as strong as his own.

But soft women had been a revelation. So different from what he had known. Forbidden since they didn’t represent the epitome of genetic engineering according to his creators. They were weak, inferior. And he had believed that until he’d had his first “normal” woman. The smooth feel of her softness molding to his taut body aroused him so much that he’d nearly taken her before she was ready. He was glad he had reigned in his self-control. Otherwise he never would have learned the pleasures of ripe, swinging breasts in his hands, his mouth. Never would have learned the enchantment of burying himself between thighs that molded to him or experienced the unending delight of plunging into a soft, wet pussy that, despite its supposed inferiority, could take him and his fury while ceding bliss that brought them both screaming pleasure.

Yes, Khan sighed as his cock engorged beneath the Kaya’s soft thighs. She was just his type. Round and yielding beneath his hardening length. She was more voluptuous than her sister. Even trapped in the Starfleet bodysuit he could tell that her breasts yearned to be free from the constriction. Had caught himself admiring her curved ass as it moved beneath the material. She would be a delight to take to his bed, schemer or not. And he did not find her as unattractive as he imagined he would from Marla’s shy description. Those green eyes of hers bled intelligence and wit. Her lips were full and no doubt delicious. And the contrast of her pale, pale skin against the deep burgundy she dyed her hair left a striking impression of mystery.

He was aware that his free hand had traveled to Kaya’s hip. He was stroking her in smooth circles, moving closer to her behind where it tipped up.  Three years was a very long time to go without touching a woman, he thought as he closed his hand on one cheek and squeezed softly. Kaya moaned under her breath in her sleep and shifted into his hand. Mmmm… he liked responsive. His lips nuzzled at her burgundy hairline and slid soft kisses along her forehead. Even deeply asleep she tilted her face up to meet his, and he took advantage of her unconscious invitation.

His lips met hers gently, barely touching. When she didn’t wake or turn away he pressed a second kiss to her mouth, this time learning the feel of her lips against his own. His tongue traced a slow drag across her lower lip, and she sighed and opened for him. One of her hands reached up to clutch the collar of his worn jacket and pull him down to deepen the kiss. He obliged her, parting her lips with his tongue to get his first real taste of her.

She was divine. Still sweet from the wine she had insisted they share around at dinner with an underlying hint of her own flavor. He slid deeper into her mouth and she opened her lips, greedily sucking his tongue into her mouth where it could dance with her own.

She was nothing like Marla. Marla had always been coy, slow to arousal, meek in her desire even at the pinnacle of climax. But not this one. She hummed her pleasure into his mouth, and his cock jumped at the throaty sound. This one was completely different. All heat and desire where his wife had been pliant and shy. He bet that she would scream when his lips closed on her clit, when his cock slid inside of her for the very first time. He would give much to hear those screams.

Ah, but celibacy was a long and difficult road, he reminded himself as he broke the kiss. No one could replace Marla. Especially not the sister, no matter her carnal allure. He broke the kiss, prepared to explain away his actions, but Kaya slid back into sleep as he pulled away.

Jesus, if that was how she kissed when she was asleep… But he pushed the thought away and took a deep breath. He started moving through his morning meditation routine to calm both his body and his mind. He would need a clear head in order to deal with this woman in the days to come. She had been here less than a day and had already shaken him to his core.

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Kaya woke curled into a chair still in Khan’s rooms. Her eyes were sticky and swollen from the tears she had wept last night. She turned her gaze to the covered panoramic window and felt her grief rise up to consume her. She had risked everything to rescue Marla only to find that her dear, sweet sister lay dead on this ruined husk of a planet. Why? Why her? Was there no justice in this universe? Why were the sweet and kind taken from them and the bitter liars of the world left to live?

A bubble of hatred rose in her gut at Starfleet. Those righteous bastards. So confident in their right to play with others’ lives, to make choices for them that would only lead to death. They hadn’t even bothered to check on the colony to see if it progressed well. Just abandoned these people to their fates and never looked back. Would anyone on the _Enterprise_ even care that Marla was dead? That her baby son lay buried in the ground next to her when he could have been saved with access to advanced medical care? She doubted it.

And now what was she to do? All of her plans had revolved around saving Marla. She should have considered that she could be dead already, but that thought had been too abhorrent to consider even in passing. Now she was stuck here with a group of super-humans living in desperate circumstances. All that was left of Marla was a husband who clearly loved her and grieved for her still. There was no one she loved to save, no sister to vouch for her. Khan had acknowledged that she was Marla’s sister, but she doubted that one as cautious as he would give her a free pass based on an accident of genetics. Her life was still at risk.

Khan… she considered him and clenched her thighs tightly together as a thrill of lust spiked through her. She was disturbingly and inappropriately attracted to the man. She had even dreamed of kissing him last night. The memories of his lips on hers, of his tongue sweeping into her mouth were so vivid she could have sworn it was real if she didn’t know better. God, but she was a bad sister. She had no rights to Khan. He should be totally off limits as her sister’s widower.

But her sexuality had never been known for its moral compass. She took what she wanted, reveled in sex. Loved the slap of skin against skin, loved males of all species and races, and enjoyed the unusual and the out of bounds. It was no wonder that Marla had run off with Khan. He was perhaps the hottest man in the galaxy. That she felt the same pull should come as no surprise. She just wouldn’t act on it. It was the least she could do to honor her dead sister.

Enough introspection, she breathed with a huff. She had real worries. She boxed up her grief and set it aside for later. Her life hung in the balance here. If she didn’t prove that she was valuable to these people, she would pay with her life. Sitting here wallowing in sadness and lust would not move her one step closer to saving her own skin.

She rose and stretched. There was a pitcher of water, a washcloth, and a towel sitting on a low table near the chair. Thoughtful of them, she admitted as she stripped down and took a quick sponge bath. Once redressed she made a cool compress of the washcloth and held it against her aching eyes hoping to ease the swelling. She did not want to show weakness among these people, especially after her complete meltdown in front of Khan yesterday.

The metal door was unlocked. Kaya peeked her head through and found Janna standing nearby in the hallway.

“Kaya,” She smiled in greeting. “We’ve been waiting for you. Khan said you are an engineer. Come help us install some of the parts you brought into our generator. Perhaps they can improve the efficiency.”

The words were like music to Kaya’s ears. She had wanted to see the engines powering this colony from the very first, and if there was any way in which she could prove her value to the colony, it would be by using her technological expertise. She believed that many here were smarter than her, but she was a savant when it came to motors, engines, generators, turbines… you name it. If it drew power, she could make it sing.

“Are you using thermonuclear power?” Kaya asked as they made their way through the cramped corridors.

“Not anymore,” Janna frowned. “We lost containment when Ceti Alpha VI exploded and laid waste to the planet. We found a geothermal vent that we think opened during the earthquakes. We have been converting its heat to electricity since then.”

Kaya winced at the nonchalant response. Losing nuclear containment was a dangerous and explosive situation under the best of circumstances. During a natural disaster of the magnitude Janna was describing…

“How many people did you lose during the disaster?” Kaya asked sympathetically.

“Sixteen to the thermal nuclear explosion on impact. Another twenty died of radiation exposure,” Janna’s expression was bleak. These were her people, her family, and there were so few of them left to eke out an existence in this wasteland.

“But it could have been much worse,” Janna continued. “Khan had us up and moving before the final explosion. We carried lead shielding ripped from the _Botany Bay_ as we crossed the plains. If the debris from the planet hadn’t been so unpredictable, we wouldn’t have lost anyone to radiation exposure. But we lost several of the shields to falling rocks and some sacrificed themselves so the rest would live.”

“But then how did you get the structures here after that?” Kaya wondered aloud.

“We sheltered in a pit at first near the vent. When the worst was over we went back and salvaged what we could. The Starfleet habitats,” Janna spat the words. “Held up better than expected and the _Botany Bay_ was meant to deflect radiation and debris from space.”

The sheer amount of strength it must have taken to relocate an entire settlement in the swirling winds of this planet left Kaya stunned. She was coming to admire these people, their tenacity for life, and their ability to endure under the direst of circumstances. Survival instincts had been bred into them, quite literally.

The temperature increased as they neared the vent. They were underground now, rough stone melding to the metal as they crossed into the underbelly of the planet. Long pipes were running along both sides of the tunnel carrying hot and cool water if Kaya had to guess. Lights dangled from the ceiling as they moved through the underground cavern until they finally came to a small team of people working amidst the stone. Joachim was there and he smiled and waved at them when he saw them. Stores of engineering equipment from her beamed-down shipment were spread across the floor.

“What do you need help with?” Kaya stepped forward to Joachim.

“We are using the natural steam to turn the turbine, but we have some areas of inefficiency. We have trouble controlling the steam at the wellhead and the turbine efficiency is low. We have enough power to run basic electricity, but more would give us more light and resources.” Joachim explained.

Come to think of it, she had noticed that the entire habitat was dim. She hadn’t had a moment to consider why that was.

“Are you using dry steam or flash steam? How are you regulating flow from the wellhead?” Kaya asked curiously. “And what type of generator are you using?”

“Dry steam,” Joachim replied, impressed with the list of questions. “Steam is forced through pipes of decreasing diameter to increase the pressure flow from the wellhead. We suffer from breaks in the lines as they near the turbine. We are using a drum generator for electricity.”

“Simple and elegant,” Kaya approved. Would she have thought to create such a simple system in the midst of such chaos as this planet? She didn’t know.

“Khan designed it,” Janna added.

Of course he did, Kaya thought. He was the leader of these people for a reason. His knowledge was vast. His ability to create order in a crisis unparalleled. Despite being one of the most hated men of the 20th Century, she was beginning to admire him. He cared for his people, saw to their survival. Pushing the feelings aside, she moved to the project at hand.

“I have two ideas,” Kaya squatted among the parts laid out before her. Thank goodness she had packed every bit of ancient and modern equipment she could scrounge that might be useful to the colonists before coming here. She had tried her best to prepare to help her sister’s people. And it was paying off. Helping improve power to the colony was the least she could do to honor Marla’s memory.

And maybe helping these people with their power generation would begin proving her value to them. If she could improve these primitive conditions, surely it would raise Khan’s esteem for her. And possibly save her life.

“First,” she said, spying the heavy regulator valve sitting to her right. “I would change the pipe design leading from the wellhead. I would install a regulator at the wellhead top and reinforce the pipe diameter at the earliest breaking point. I can program the regulator to change the pressure at a pinch point rather than forcing it through the smaller pipes to increase the pressure. There’s nuvoplast here that can be used to reinforce the pipes coming directly from the wellhead so they can take the extra pressure that will build up. The regulator will control the flow and keep it at a constant pressure.”

“I like that,” Joachim nodded thoughtfully. “And your other idea?”

“I would have to see the drum generator first. There are multiple ways to improve it. Replace the housing with one that can generate a greater magnetic field. Perhaps change the bearings that are being used to convert the magnetic field into electricity. The brushes may need to be changed to generate the field more efficiently. I’d have to see the generator to know which solutions are possible.” Kaya replied.

“Do we have the equipment to do that?” Joachim frowned, staring down at the stack of metal and electronics spread across the rocky floor.

“The regulator is there,” She pointed to the heavy piece of equipment. “I brought a basic regulator that can handle a wide range of pressure and temperature just in case. We have carbon nanofibers for the brushes. I’m not sure if we can reinforce the housing with what we have here.” She frowned, mentally working through the calculations. Even a twenty percent boost in efficiency would be substantial for the colony. She was pretty sure they could do that with the supplies.

“We will have to shut down power to the habitat in order to do this. Can you survive without it for a few days?” Kaya asked.

Janna huffed away the question.

“We survived months without electricity at first,” She waved away the concern. Kaya nodded in understanding.

“Then tell the people to prepare. We will begin setting up here. When they are ready, we will turn off the power and get to work.”

It was a long three days of heavy, dirty work for a team of five people. Joachim and Janna were part of the team, and for that Kaya was grateful. They were the only friendly faces she knew so far. Khan did not count as friendly. And it made instructing the team easier with the tacit approval of those two supporting her commands.

The pipes were all above ground, which was a blessing in some ways, but the bare pipes were losing heat as they made their way from the well head to the generator. She taught two men and a woman how to spray and mold the nuvoplast around the pipes to insulate and reinforce them. Installing the regulator would have been impossible without Joachim’s and Janna’s enhanced strength to hold it in place while she welded the seams using a powerful microtorch she had packed into the supplies.

The drum generator presented many challenges. Even though it was small for the size of the habitat it was supplying, it was still too large for her to make any adjustments to improve the housing. There simply wasn’t enough metal. But she did replace the crude brushes with spun carbon nanotubes to improve their performance. It would significantly increase current production. And she replaced the bearings in the alternator to increase the percentage of mechanical energy being converted to electricity.

And overlaid on top of the whole experience was Khan. He came at least twice a day to oversee the progress on the repairs and receive updates from Joachim. He didn’t speak to her, but she caught him watching her with a considering frown whenever she looked up from her work. He made her feel nervous and clumsy with those penetrating eyes that never missed a detail. When his gaze raked her she was conscious of the fact that she looked nothing like the rest of his people. No long, graceful limbs and lithe strength for her. No taut athlete’s body. Just a small, round woman working in the presence of gods.

She hated that she cared what Khan thought of her physically. She hated her attraction to him. And some small part of her was even jealous of her sister for being beautiful enough to capture the love of this Adonis. She wanted him, but she knew he was out of her league. Unfortunately, his measured disapproval only served to increase her desire for him. She wondered what it would be like to have all of that brute strength and cunning turned on her in lust. Would he be a demanding lover? Forceful and commanding? God, but the idea had her shivering with desire. Desire that she continually had to squash in his presence. Fortunately, the work was challenging enough that she could focus easily when he wasn’t there.

Finally it was time to restart the system. Kaya insisted that they stay back as she adjusted the regulator through her virtual interface. Everything _should_ work, but she wouldn’t risk lives if there was a break in the line or an imperfect bead in the weld. She huffed. She hadn’t ever welded an imperfect seam in her life. This would work. It was just Khan’s presence making her nervous that caused her to doubt the quality of her work. The generator began to spin up once the steam began to flow into it and over the coils. Lights began to pop on in the cavern, overshadowing the light from their flashlights as they burned at an illumination that was nearly twice what it had been before. The light held fast, the generator hummed, and the regulator showed all pressure within tolerance.

Kaya whooped with joy at their success. She impulsively hugged Joachim, Janna, and the rest of the crew. She carefully avoided Khan. His face was unreadable, but he wouldn’t want a hug from her. Of that she was certain.

“Let’s go back to the habitat and see if any circuits have overloaded,” Was all he said. It was probably as close to a compliment that she would ever receive from him.

 

Kaya stood under a blissfully hot shower and scrubbed away the layers of grime and sweat that covered her skin. Geothermal power came with some distinct advantages and a nearly endless supply of hot water was among them. She luxuriated in the spray, finally clean after days buried deep in the cavern.

Other luxuries were distinctly lacking though. The soap she used could only be described as utilitarian at best. The towel was threadbare. The donated clothes she slid into were frayed and worn. She was reminded again that these people were living on the brink of disaster. Even with the improved power supply, this lifestyle could not be sustained under such harsh conditions. If these people were to survive, they would have to leave this planet.

And that was her true value to Khan, she knew. A ship with which to gain their freedom. He intended to steal it from her. He would leave her behind to starve to death or simply slit her throat and leave her corpse to rot in the sand. She had to prove that she was valuable before he decided to do either of those.

She had a chance to do that tonight. Khan had summoned her to his quarters after the evening meal. She stared down at the long tunic and trousers she now wore, hoping she was presentable. The trousers were cuffed at the bottom to make up for her lack of height. She was horribly conscious of the way her bountiful breasts swayed unsupported beneath the rough cloth of the tunic. The chafe of the fabric hardened her nipples too. How embarrassing. How was she supposed to argue for her life with such obvious reminders of her physical imperfections looming between them? She glanced at her work suit longingly. It provided both support and cover, but it was filthy after days of work. There was no way she could wear it this evening.

Kaya hesitated before Khan’s door. She hoped the window was covered in there. She still cried herself to sleep at night over Marla’s death. She didn’t need the reminder of her loss. But Khan may use it as a way to throw her off balance for their conversation. She had to be prepared for anything. Taking a deep, steadying breath she knocked on the door.

“Come in,” He called, and Kaya luxuriated for a moment in the smooth timbre of his voice, the rolling accent that she found so appealing. But then she snapped all of her defenses into place and opened the door. In the end, this was not much different from negotiating her services with a potential contractor. She succeeded at those regularly. She would handle this in much the same way.

The room was better lit this time, but it still held the soft glow that made her feel as if she was entering an inner sanctum. The blinds were mercifully shut as well enabling her to marginally relax. Khan sat in the same ragged chair she had awoken in days ago. The quality of the chair did nothing to dampen the aura of authority and dominance that poured off of him. A mismatched companion had been pulled across from it. On the small table between the two chairs sat a temptation that Kaya could hardly resist: Saurian brandy. She had packed a bottle in each of the cargo containers in case she needed the incentive to loosen someone’s tongue while she was here. Apparently, Khan intended that tongue to be hers. Damn him for using his own trick against her.

“Please, sit,” Khan gestured pleasantly to the other chair. Kaya tried to calm a spike of nerves as she obeyed. If there was one thing she was learning about Khan, it was that he was at his most deadly when he was at his most pleasant. This did not bode well for her.

“Your work on the generator was quite impressive,” He complimented her as he filled two small glasses with the brandy. She took the glass he offered with a nod. He raised his in a silent toast and she followed suit. He quaffed the small glass down in one smooth swallow, and Kaya had no choice but to do the same. The liquor burned all the way down, instantly suffusing her with a pleasant glow. Saurian brandy was dangerous stuff. It left one relaxed and uninhibited. It made it hard to keep secrets.

But she had no secrets to keep, she reminded herself. She was here of her own volition. She had come to see her sister and found this colony of super humans and Marla’s grave instead. She had no moral qualms about sharing her ship with Khan and his people if that was what he wanted. She would take them wherever they wanted to go within reason. She just wanted to live. And not as some underling serving a race of genetically engineered demigods. She wanted to be free.

“Would you consider it valuable work?” Kaya challenged him softly as she set her glass back on the table. He refilled both glasses and leaned back in his chair with his as if contemplating his answer. She, on the other hand, was just pleased that her hand didn’t shake as she mimicked his movements.

“Your value is no longer in question,” Khan soothed. Relief spiked through Kaya. She would live. But then why was Khan being so nice to her?

“Your trustworthiness, however, is,” He finished simply, taking a small sip of the brandy.

 _Oh shit._ Kaya thought, taking a bigger sip of the brandy than she intended. Her life was still very much in danger. How was she to prove to him that he could trust her?

“Why ever do you need to trust me?” She asked bluntly. “As you deduced, I came here alone. I have a ship that you can take if I but cooperate. Why wouldn’t I cooperate with you in exchange for my life and my freedom? Those will cost you nothing and mean a great deal to me.” There, she had laid her cards on the table. With no sister here to care for, all she wanted was to get off this rock with her life intact.

“Drink,” Khan commanded, and Kaya finished the rest of her glass in one gulp. _Damn the man._ He commanded, and she simply obeyed like some stupid weakling. But the wave of good humor and relaxation caused by the brandy soon overwhelmed her discomfiture. She placed her glass back on the table and he refilled it. She left it on the table this time. She was already on a slow slide to drunkenness. She needed to keep what wits she could when she was dealing with Khan.

“Saurian brandy is lovely stuff, is it not?” He commented in that rolling voice of his. Kaya was slipping into the warmth of that voice, the soft lilt of his accent as it washed over her. The change in subject suddenly seemed totally reasonable. _Dammit_ , she was already drunker than she wanted to be.

“It not only lifts the spirits but loosens the tongue,” Khan continued, leaning forward to fill her glass again. “I imagine you packed it just in case you needed information. What a pleasant way to learn one’s enemy’s secrets. I applaud you.”

“It has worked well in the past,” She admitted. “But then I am not used to being on the receiving end of the interrogation.”

“I imagine not.” He smiled seductively. “I suggest you have another drink. This method of getting information from you is far more pleasant than the other methods we have to hand. And far less permanently damaging.”

Kaya’s hand did tremble this time as she reached for the glass. He wanted her drunk enough to lay her soul bare. What did he hope to learn from her? And if she had nothing to tell him, would he move on to the more ominous methods he had at his disposal? She did the shot and slammed the glass down on the table in a show of bravado.

“Ask away, Khan. I have nothing to hide.” He finished his own brandy and refilled both glasses.

“I guess we shall see.” His words were kind, soft. Deadly. He sipped his drink slowly but didn’t demand that she finish her glass this time. Still, she picked it up and cradled it to her chest as if her willingness could somehow offer her protection.

“First, you will tell me who you are working for.” The demand was delivered in that same smooth tone that promised repercussions if she did not obey.

“I work for myself,” She said with a frown. “I mean, I take contracts for work, but in the end it is my choice whether or not I choose to sign on.” Great, she was starting to babble. The Saurian brandy was doing its work.

“And what contract brought you here?” Khan crooned. He nodded to the drink in her hand. She immediately drank it, but held the empty glass tight to her chest. Four shots of Saurian brandy was enough to have her babbling every little embarrassing detail of her life if he but asked.

“No contract,” Kaya insisted. “I came here for Marla. I couldn’t just leave her here alone once I found out she was alive. I wanted to help her. Help all of you if she had adopted you as her family. I just wanted to be sure she was safe and comfortable.” She dashed sudden tears from her eyes, cursing the brandy for loosening her control of her emotions.

“And how did you find out about us exactly?” Khan asked smoothly. “Did Starfleet tell you?”

“No!” She exclaimed. “Well, yes… I mean, sort of.” She paused and tried again. “I got the Chief Engineer of the _Enterprise_ drunk while he was on leave at Rigel. I wasn’t looking for him in particular. I had accepted Marla’s death. But then there he was, and it was a chance to learn about her last days, to see my sister again through his eyes. I couldn’t resist.” Her voice was plaintive with longing for Marla.

“And did he resist?” Kaya flushed at the question. No, Scotty had been quite pleased to have her company and share stories of her sister once she introduced herself. He had quite obviously hoped to share more.

“Not at first,” She admitted. “But then it became clear that he was hiding something. So I took him back to his room with a bottle of Romulan ale. I got him drunk and slipped a little something extra into his drink to get him to talk.”

“You have a wonderfully flexible moral compass, Kaya,” Khan smiled and it seemed genuine this time in the dim glow of the lanterns. “But did it never occur to you that he was put there for you to find?”

“What? No. And even if he had been, I’ve been so careful these last months hiding my tracks. I paid for all of my transactions in gold latinum. The favors I called in were from people who have no dealings with Starfleet. I changed ships and names three times before purchasing the cargo carrier. I had the supplies delivered in small shipments from multiple vendors.” She was on high alert now despite the brandy. Had Scotty been a trap that she had missed? Was Starfleet even now monitoring her every move?

“Nicely done,” Khan approved, and Kaya wasn’t sure if he meant her planning or her willingness to talk. “Drink.” He commanded. She obediently held out the empty glass for a refill.

“Much more and I will be useless to you,” She murmured as she set the emptied glass on the table. Her hand was no longer trembling. She felt too good to worry about consequences now. She was riding high on the brandy. It was illegal in Starfleet for a reason. It wasn’t simple alcohol. It dangerously lowered inhibitions, made even the most stoic officer willing to babble away classified secrets. She was happily humming away in that space now, the light taking on a soft glow in her vision. Kaya’s gaze traveled to Khan. In her inebriated state she couldn’t help but admire the smooth, tan expanse of his chest revealed by the worn jacket, the play of the muscles in his arm as he set the bottle back on the table. She was already dangerously attracted to him. The brandy made her want to prove her devotion to him in hopes that he would drag her to the floor and fuck her senseless.

She shook her head hard. OK. She was way too drunk. That thought should not have tripped through her mind so easily. Despite the admonition, she continued to observe Khan as he drained his glass and poured another. He finished it too and set the empty glass back on the table.

“Can you even get drunk?” She asked curiously. She was aware that her voice had taken on a soft, drawling quality. Yes, she was definitely good and high now. Khan’s smile was indulgent as he set his glass down.

“Yes, but it takes more and doesn’t last as long,” He admitted.

“No hangovers either, I bet,” She scowled. “I’m going to hate you in the morning.”

Khan truly laughed for the first time she had ever heard. The sound was gorgeous. Deep-throated and uninhibited. It turned the volume up on his natural charisma from astonishing to dangerous. Kaya shifted in her chair as lust coiled deep in her abdomen. Would he laugh as he took her, bellowing out his pleasure as he flew towards climax? Or would he growl and bite and yell? She desperately wanted to find out.

 

Khan considered the woman before him as he debated whether or not to have another drink. The Saurian brandy was powerful. Even he could feel the effects, letting him know that this was more than simple alcohol. Whatever the Saurian’s used, it affected even him to some degree. He must be feeling the effects if he had truly just laughed out loud at Kaya’s resentment.

He calmed and steepled his fingers before him. His elbows rested on the battered arms of the chair as he studied the woman before him. She was well and truly high from the brandy. Her posture was at ease as she sat in the chair. Her eyes were glassy but still alert in the light from the lanterns. And as far as he could tell everything she had said was true.

Testing would require repetition, and he put her through her paces. Making her retell her story, purposely switching bits of information to see if she changed the details to match his. He forced three more brandies on her and had another himself as he did so. Five times through the story left them both nothing but frustrated. Her story remained unchanged.

There was always the possibility that she was immune to the brandy. Surely if she were a Starfleet operative they would have taken precautions against her getting drunk and spilling information. A practiced actor could easily slip into the pose of drunkenness as she had.

Perhaps it was time to shake things up a bit.

Khan poured another shot of brandy and considered what to do next. The liquor flowed into him leaving him both euphoric and relaxed as the drink suddenly hit him full force. He hadn’t felt this good since he had first come to power and realized he would never be a slave again. He could do anything. He could have anything.

With that thought in mind he examined the woman in the chair. She was resting one hand on her fist, her burgundy hair falling around her like a curtain and glinting in the light. He had no idea her hair was so long, that it would be so feminine as it fell around her. He had been purposely keeping his gaze from her unbound breasts the entire evening, but now he looked his fill. They were full and the press of her nipples against the fabric made him want to suck one into his mouth.

Oh, yes. He would shake things up a bit and see how drunk she really was. By the time he was done, he would know whether or not she was faking.

 

Kaya was an uncomfortable combination of drunk and frustrated. She was usually a happy drunk, ebullient even. But Khan’s continuous and repetitive questioning had worn her down and ruined her mood. Hell, she was ready to make a move on the brandy just to dispel the pall all of the questioning had cast across her. It had been awful. Never had she worked so hard at keeping the simple truth straight. He had challenged her at every detail, demanded more, repeated back inaccuracies that she was forced to correct until her brain hurt. _Bastard_. Didn’t Khan realize that the high from Saurian brandy was supposed to be fun? Sure, she had used it during negotiations in which she hadn’t fully trusted her potential employer, but she had never done more than loosen their tongues. What he had done had truly been torture.

And now Khan was just watching her silently. Measuring the veracity of her story, holding her life in the balance. _Fuck it,_ she thought. If she were going to die because this man didn’t believe her, then she wanted to die drunk. Happy at the very least. She grabbed the bottle and took a long swallow from it directly. That would surely deaden the pain of his knife across her throat, maybe even help her slip joyfully into that long good night.

“Impressive,” Khan raised an eyebrow as he finished his own drink.

“No, desperate,” She corrected him, enunciating carefully. “If you don’t believe me, please just kill me now while I’m too drunk to feel it.” He smiled faintly at her words but didn’t answer. He set his own glass on the table and sat back in his chair.

“Come here.” His tone was imperious. It brooked no argument, and she was in no position to give one anyway. She stood and applauded her balance as she made it to his side without wobbling. He took her hand and pulled her to stand in front of him. He stroked her palm and fingers with his own, calloused skin over calloused skin.

“You are an engineer for certain,” He observed, uncurling her palm so he could examine the hard won callouses of a lifetime spent working on engines.

“Everything I’ve told you is true,” She insisted weakly. Her protestations would mean naught to Khan, she knew. He would draw his own conclusions, and she would have to live with them. Or not, depending. He dropped her hand as he examined her from head to toe. Her body sparked under the scrutiny. She may not be beautiful, but most men found her endowments to be quite… adequate. She took in a deep breath that lifted her breasts beneath the rough cloth. What she wouldn’t give for his caress right now. It had been a long time since she had last felt a man’s touch on her body.

“Remove your tunic,” He commanded softly, gently. And then he waited for her to comply.

Kaya’s head spun at the order. Heat suffused her body at the thought of being bare before this man. Would he approve of her ample breasts or shun them in favor of the perky, barely-there breasts of the Amazons he lived with? She was about to find out. She didn’t even hesitate, just pulled the fabric over her head and dropped it to the floor. Her nipples hardened further, pleased to finally be free of the scratchy cloth that had abraded them all night.

“Beautiful,” Khan breathed as she stood topless before him. He had been wondering what Kaya’s breasts would look like. Round or pear-shaped? Pale nipples or dark?  His mouth watered at the sight of full, round breasts tipped with rose colored nipples. He could already feel one on his tongue. That his plan had the added benefit of testing her inebriation became secondary to getting his hands on her breasts.

“Clasp your hands behind your back,” He ordered her, wondering if she would obey.

Kaya shivered hard and complied, gripping her hands at the small of her back so her breasts jutted even farther in front of her. She was pleased that he liked what he saw. Desperately hoped that this would end with him touching her breasts, soothing her tortured nipples.

Khan didn’t disappoint. He leaned forward to cup and lift both breasts in his palms. She sighed in pleasure, her soft skin thrilling to the feel of his callouses dragging against her. She would stand like this for hours if it meant that Khan would keep fondling her. He kneaded her breasts and she pushed them into his grasp, watching him take her measure. A spike of arousal coiled between her thighs. She _wanted_ with a sudden desperation that only the Saurian brandy provoked.

“Your poor nipples. They’ve been abused,” he murmured, leaning closer. His breath puffed against one and she leaned forward so that it brushed his lips.

“It was the tunic. It was too rough,” She replied, aching for him to soothe the burning peaks.

“Ahhh...,” He whispered in understanding, opening his mouth and capturing her entire areola between his lips. The smooth sweep of his tongue against her battered nipple drew a whimper from her as he both soothed and inflamed her. She clenched her thighs together as he continued circling the taut peak until it stood hard with arousal instead of pain. The soft bite he planted on her sensitive nipple went straight to her clit and she moaned, wanting more. Needing more.

And she knew this game. She loved this game. Still keeping her hands behind her back she moved forward and planted a knee on either side of his muscular thighs in the chair. He smiled slyly and leaned back, letting her have her little victory. He caught her breast in his hand when she brought it close to him, sucking on the nipple until she gasped and writhed, the pleasure building within her with each stroke.

God, but he felt good. Kaya shivered as Khan grasped her hips and pulled her down to meet the hard length of his erection pulsing against his pants. He continued to bite and suck and caress, keeping a perfect balance between pleasure and pain until she was mewling and pushing each breast in turn to meet his lips, his teeth, his tongue. Desperate for more.

“May I – May I use my hands?” She gasped as he bit a trail along the underside of one full breast. “Please…,” And she wasn’t sure if she was begging for freedom, or more attention, or both.

“Yes,” He growled against her soft skin and Kaya unwound her arms and laced them through his hair. In the historical pictures, Khan’s hair was jet black. Now it was lightly peppered with gray from these years of struggle. She stroked through the soft locks and tilted his head up to meet her. She kissed him deeply, thoroughly, tasting the spice of the brandy on his tongue as they sparred eagerly with one another.

He groaned deeply as she kissed him. Made her gasp by taking one broad hand and cupping her crotch through the trousers. He ground his palm up against her pussy and she ground back, giving voice to her need with tight little whimpers in the back of her throat that matched the rhythm he set against her. Her core ached with need, her clit was desperate for more attention than he could give her through the thick cloth. It was too much. She couldn’t stay still.

Kaya dropped her hands to the waist of his pants and tugged them open without ever breaking their kiss. She bit his lower lip teasingly as she grasped the hard length of him in her bare hand. Glorious skin on skin, his cock hard and thick enough that she could barely wrap her hand around his girth. Talk about genetic engineering. She couldn’t wait to be impaled on his thick length. Her body wept at the thought, adding desperation to the grinding she was doing against his palm.

Bright sparks of pleasure ricocheted through Khan as Kaya grasped his cock and pulled him from his pants. He was already so hard he could drive nails. Her sure caress had him growling into her mouth, arching his hips to meet her. He bucked into the rhythm she set, matching the one he had going against her crotch. God, but he couldn’t wait to get into her pussy. To feel the wetness along with the heat she was throwing off like a furnace. To make her come around his fingers, his tongue, his cock.

How could two sisters be so different? He wondered vaguely as she left his mouth to trail kisses along his jaw. One so shy and the other so hot, so carnal that he could hardly wait to pound into her with the full fury of his passion.

“So different…,” Kaya heard Khan murmur just as she broke their kiss. Everything froze around her, the heat of her passion turning to dust as she realized what he meant. She was suddenly clear-headed and horrified. He was comparing her to Marla. She pushed away from him, stumbling to grab her tunic from the floor.

She fled.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Khan held the seedling carefully as he transplanted if from the petri dish and into its new hydroponic home. It was fragile and transplanting required a substantial amount of care. It was perfect for one who needed time away from the day-to-day grind of surviving on the planet and wanted to feel life growing in their hands. It was an unspoken rule that one did not bother those planting seedlings unless it was an emergency.

They were communal with most of what they did here at _Botany Bay_. The rigors of living in desolation required the work of all no matter their station. Khan did this work routinely, but today he did it as a means to take a break and think. He needed to be undisturbed as he picked through the events of last night. This was the best way he could manage to ensure he had the peace he needed to think.

He had many words to describe last night. Revelatory, passionate… humiliating. He stayed his hand just before he crushed the seedling.

Though 23rdcentury history might not tell it, Khan Noonien Singh had much experience with humiliation. He and his crèche had been raised as property under the watchful eyes of generals and scientists. Those who failed the tests were culled. Those who excelled survived and went on to train in paramilitary camps. The training had been varied and thorough, but one constant had remained throughout: they were nothing, property that had been created and could be destroyed at a whim. They were soulless, inhuman beasts, and they were treated as such. Fed at the will of their owners, punished as they saw fit. There was no rhyme or reason to their treatment. They were at the mercy of the petty egos who thought they could create a master race. Some few had been rational, maybe even morally torn by what they were doing. But most had been sadistic megalomaniacs determined to demonstrate that they had complete control over their creations.

Oh, rebellion had been sweet. The students became the masters and forced every single government who had participated in their creation to serve them. They had destroyed their enemies decisively. Soon they would have ruled the world.

Except that not all of those who had suffered as he did came to the same revelation. Some became whipped dogs who curried their masters’ favor. They buckled under the pressure from their teachers, weak links in the chain of genetic perfection. Khan would have killed them himself while in the crèche if he had known that they would later go on to betray their movement. His final escape had been a desperate race for freedom, fleeing the very world they had been bred upon. In space they would find a new home, create a new life without the interference of the “originals”. They could finally live in peace. Create a society of their own and flourish.

He had been weak when Kirk revived him nearly a decade ago. He admitted that now. Not physically beaten, but emotionally bruised and battered. He had lost everything he had built including his identity as the greatest warlord the planet had ever seen. His last memory of Earth had been of a gut-twisting betrayal by one of his own. He had been desperate to reassert his authority over his life after being revived so he had done what he knew best: overthrow the current regime.

He had counted Marla first among his new subjects. So fragile, so in need of protection. The perfect foil for the warrior who had lost all. So pliant and submissive. The perfect complement to his battered ego. She filled the holes in his psyche, made him feel complete. Even her betrayal of him on the _Enterprise_ had not been enough to break the bonds of need that had ensnared him. He had needed worshippers as a fish needed water, and she was his first. His lasting. His most important. She had been an excellent helpmeet on the planet. There to soothe him after a long day of work, comforting and easy to be with. Simple in her needs, uncomplicated in her desires. Easy to satisfy. She was all a broken man needed to heal.

He had put himself in emotional stasis since Marla died, he admitted. He had made her into an idol. His ideal. His symbol of rebirth. She was so completely outside of his experience of originals, so completely what he had needed, that he had entombed her memory in glass and put his own emotions there with her. In doing so he had neglected to reflect on how his own emotional landscape had changed. How his own needs had shifted in the years since her death.

He was no longer a broken man.

Ceti Alpha V had become the crucible of his rebirth. Leading had come easily, but leading through disaster had built him into a more formidable man than he had ever been. It had defined him in relationship to his people rather than in defiance of his captors. The strength in building was a thousand fold greater than the strength that came from conquering. He knew that now.

Kaya was the catalyst for change on many levels. She brought with her a ship, freedom from this planet, and, if he let her, freedom from his emotional chains as well. There had been more to his comment last night than a mere comparison of love making styles. Everything about Kaya was different from Marla, from her brash defiance of him to her competence to her ownership of her sexuality. It was refreshing and tantalizing. And it hurt his memory of Marla to admit that. It felt like a betrayal of the woman who had seen him through his darkest days. He loved Marla. He truly did. How could he abandon her in favor of the older sister? The humiliation that came from his betrayal of his wife’s memory washed over him again as he set the seedling in its cup. He could not undo his actions, but he could prevent a repeat of his mistake.

He set his humiliation aside for later and considered the rest of the evening. He focused on the other information Kaya had given him last night.

She had shown him the power of the brandy to loosen the tongue. It was apparently impossible to keep even an errant thought from bursting forth while under its influence. He had plied Kaya with at least twice as much brandy as he had drunk. The fact that she held steadfast to her story meant that she was likely telling the truth. If she was working for Starfleet, she didn’t know it. She had truly come here to find her sister and aid her. With her ship they could leave this dying planet and travel the galaxy. If he could persuade Kaya to help them, they could find a home far away from Starfleet and the Federation, build the life that they deserved. He had no doubt that Kaya had the connections to see them safely settled where they could flourish.

He would prefer not to kill Kaya. He was coming to like her. In a galaxy dominated by Starfleet and herd mentality, she had forged her own path. Her story of dosing that engineer to get information out of him had impressed and amused him. Her lack of submission to him despite the fact that he held her life in his hands led him to admire her. And if she was half as competent with 23rd century tech as she was with the primitive technology they had here, then she would be an invaluable addition to his crew.

Getting off of this planet easily would require Kaya’s cooperation. He would have to work hard to get it after last night. He had deeply offended her. Before his unkind words had slipped from his tongue, she had offered to take them wherever they wanted in exchange for her freedom. It was unlikely that she was still feeling so charitable. The great Khan was going to have to apologize and convince her that helping his people was a worthwhile endeavor. Otherwise, he would have to do the unpalatable and force her against her will.

He had already given orders to his people to surreptitiously begin packing. They would take only the few important items they had managed to salvage over the years. The greenhouse with its supply of seedlings was one of them. They may have need for a ready supply of food wherever they ended up. The rest would be left behind to desiccate in the blowing sand. He just hoped he wouldn’t be leaving Kaya’s corpse behind with all the rest.

 

Kaya sat at a long table in the communal eating area. Her throbbing head was cradled in her palms. The hangover from Saurian brandy was one of the worst self-inflicted pains in the galaxy. Her head pulsed from the light and with the slightest movement, her body ached, and her stomach roiled at the black coffee she had filched from the supplies she’d beamed down. She wanted to curl into a ball and die. Khan was indeed a bastard. Forcing her cooperation with the brandy and then leaving her to suffer the consequences. She hoped she at least convinced him she was telling the truth. Otherwise this hangover was for nothing.

“Here, try this,” Janna said quietly as she took the seat beside her. Kaya glanced up with bleary eyes as the woman pushed a green and yeasty beverage in her direction. Her stomach revolted at the smell. Janna must have seen her disgust on her face. She chuckled softly enough that it didn’t compound the ache in her head. Considerate of her.

“We use it for hangovers here,” She explained. “It’s a combination of plant extracts to replace the nutrients you’ve lost, rehydrating fluids, and a little hair of the dog to drain some of the pain.”

“I didn’t think you people got hangovers,” Kaya replied in a whisper. Anything louder caused her head to pound and her stomach to heave.

“Oh, it takes a lot of alcohol for us to end up feeling like you do, but it does happen.” Janna frowned. “Life here is not easy. All of us have sought solace in a bottle on occasion.” She pushed the beverage closer to Kaya. Kaya took it, sniffed gingerly, and decided to take the help. Really, it couldn’t make her feel any worse. She held her breath and drank the concoction straight down in several long gulps. For a moment she thought it would come right back up, but she took several steadying breaths to calm her stomach. After a few moments the light stopped hurting her eyes so much and her stomach eased a bit. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it did help.

“Thank you, Janna,” Kaya said gratefully. “It’s working I think.”

“Good,” Janna patted Kaya’s shoulder gently. “Why don’t you go lay down for a while?”

“I – I have nowhere to go,” Kaya stumbled over the words. She had spent the rest of last night crammed into closet off a beaten corridor. It had been uncomfortable, but safe. Janna frowned.

“I have a cot you can use.” She offered. “It will be quiet and dark since several of our nightshift people use the area during the day. I will find a more permanent solution for you while you sleep this off.”

Darkness and quiet sounded like heaven right now. Kaya nodded mutely and allowed the Amazon to lead her like a child to bed.

 

Kaya awoke hours later feeling much better than she had any right to considering the amount of Saurian brandy she had imbibed last night. Janna’s concoction was more effective than she imagined. But of course it was. These people were intelligent and motivated. If they managed to survive in the harsh conditions of Ceti Alpha V, why couldn’t they manage a decent hangover remedy?

Kaya rose to an elbow and examined the room in its near darkness. Several cots were jammed together in the small space. Exhausted men and women slept deeply around her. She could smell the sweat of long hours spent toiling away coming from them. It was close and stuffy in the room and the smell was unpleasant.

But so was life on Ceti Alpha V. These people were struggling. Barely surviving. From what she had seen so far they worked together seamlessly, treated each other as family. Supported even a stranger in their midst. They all deserved better than this.

She could give them better than this. So far she had counted forty-two people living in the colony. With some rejiggering of the supplies, she could accommodate them on her cargo ship. She could take them someplace safe.

And it was something she could do to serve Marla’s memory. She had no doubt that her sister had loved Khan and had loved these people. It had been her nature to care for others, to give of herself. Maybe that was why she had joined Starfleet even though positions for historians were rare. It must have given her great satisfaction to be part of a team serving a greater purpose. It was not something that Kaya had ever understood until now. She thought of the little boy she had seen sucking his thumb as his home threatened to fall to shambles. Of Janna and her kindness. Joachim’s easy laugh. Khan’s determination to keep his people safe in this brutal land. Yes, there was much to be gained by being part of an extended family such as this one.

Khan. She buried her face in the pillow as she recalled all of the details of last night. The humiliation crawled over her skin like writhing worms. How could she ever face him again? She recognized now that he hadn’t truly been interested in sex with her. He had merely been testing his influence over her. Seeing if the effects of the brandy were truly as strong as the claims. If she acquiesced to his bold demands, then he could consider that she was so heavily enslaved by the drug that she had been unable to do anything but tell the truth while under its influence. His requests had been a means to confirm his power over her while she was inebriated.

She had been flying high from the brandy, certain that her life was at an end after that thorough interrogation. She had reveled in the opportunity for one last physical encounter before her execution. It had led her to do way more than simply acquiesce to his commands. She had thrown herself at him.

And all along he had been thinking of his dead wife. She was a fool. An embarrassment of a sister. She had betrayed her sister’s memory in the worst possible way. What must Khan think of her after that display? Did he loathe her now? Had she ruined her one chance at freedom? Would he take her ship and kill her now for forcing him to stray from the memory of his wife? He was a passionate man. His emotions ran deep. There would be consequences for her actions.

Her reverie was broken by a sudden pounding on the door. The door flew open spilling light into the room and causing all of them to shrink away from the sudden glare.

“We are becalmed,” Joachim announced. “We need everyone outside for repair work now.”

Becalmed? Kaya thought. Did the winds actually stop on this planet for even a short time? They must. It would explain Joachim’s urgency. Kaya rose with the rest of the crew, mimicking the alacrity of their movements. Despite her ship waiting in orbit to take them away from this destroyed planet, safety had to be maintained until they left. Life was precarious here. Even a small slip in their defenses against the dust storms could destroy the habitat before she could safely beam everyone out to safety.

She pitched in readily with Joachim’s and Janna’s crew. They knew her already so she felt comfortable joining them. They were at the barrier wall testing the control mechanisms and scouring the walls to ensure none of them had taken serious damage. Kaya was in a pit with Joachim oiling the crank mechanism when she frowned.

“Why haven’t you mechanized these?” She asked as she applied the oil and he turned the shaft.

“We didn’t have enough power to spare,” Was his reply and she nodded thoughtfully.

“So you send people out here when the winds change to adjust the walls?”

“We have no choice but to take the risk,” Joachim answered. “If the walls are tilted too high when a strong storm hits they will collapse. Keep them too low and the wind will blow the habitat down. It takes regular adjustments to keep us safe.”

Kaya nodded thoughtfully as they climbed out of the latest pit. She looked towards the rambling buildings half a kilometer away. They were worn and battered despite the protection that the barrier wall offered. Men and women were repairing cracks with the microtorches she had brought. She even counted six children happily diving in the sand. This must be a rare holiday indeed for parents to let their children play in the very sand that was their worst enemy.

“Are they safe out here?” She gestured to the children.

“As long as they don’t stray too far from the buildings they will be fine. But the storms can come back quickly. Stay alert,” Joachim admonished her. Kaya searched the clear sky looking for clouds building on the horizon.

“Kaya!” Joachim’s voice was urgent much later as she packed up the tools in the pit at the base of the last barrier wall. “Incoming! Head back to the habitat!” Kaya hastily rolled up the tools and scrambled from the hole in the ground. The wind was picking up speed by the second, and Joachim had to wrestle against the wind to push the steel cover back into place.

“Shit! That picked up fast!” She exclaimed.

“We only have a couple of minutes before the storm hits. Haul some ass!” And Joachim took off down the slope to the buildings. Kaya was about to do the same when she heard a high crying in the wind. It sounded human. She looked back at the habitat. Five children were being hurried back into shelter, but two adults were calling out into the wind. Had they lost a child? The crying sound came again on the wind, and Kaya turned towards it.

“Hello? Anyone out here?” She called. Her voice was whipped away by the increasing velocity of the wind. She stayed still for a moment despite the gathering storm listening for a reply. The cry came again from the barrier wall to her right. She scrambled over the dunes towards it. If a child had gotten lost exploring, could it have made it all the way out to the walls?

Kaya cleared the next dune and saw a small figure huddled in the sand against the barrier wall for protection. She stumbled through the sand as quickly as she could to the forlorn figure. It was one of the older boys, about six years old.

“What are you doing out here?” She yelled in shock as she pulled the boy to his feet. The storm was beginning to come in full force now, the sand starting to hurt where it pinged off her bare skin. Dust devils were beginning their familiar whirl across the barren terrain.

“I – I wanted to see the barrier wall up close,” He hiccupped, tears creating dirty runnels down his face. He was completely unprotected from the increasing storm, clad in nothing but a tunic and breaches. He would be flayed alive by the storm by the time they got back to the structures if she didn’t cover him quickly. Fortunately she had pulled the tunic on over her bodysuit before heading out to work. She hadn’t wanted to get the suit dirty and be left feeling vulnerable the next time she saw Khan.

She dragged the tunic off and wrapped the boy in it covering his head and bare hands as best she could. The loss of the tunic left her vulnerable to the lacerating grains of sand though as the wind speed increased. She needed to hurry to get them back to shelter. Kaya pulled the covered boy across her shoulders in a fireman’s carry and headed back to safety as quickly as she could.

The storm’s ferocity increased by the second. One minute she had been in the middle of a dust storm, the next she was in a total brown out lost in a world of whirling sand. She squinted her eyes to try to keep the dust out and catch site of the buildings at the same time, but without her tricorder to guide her she was out of luck. The sand bit at her everywhere her skin was exposed and lashed at her unprotected eyes. Why hadn’t she thought to pack safety gear just in case something happened while she was out here? She wasn’t as fast as these people. They could cover half a kilometer in a few minutes while she could not. She had been foolish in her desire to be helpful.

But she wasn’t helpless. She knew the general direction of the habitat. She would head that way and hope she didn’t get turned around in the storm. She closed her eyes and began slogging through the blowing sand and dust as fast as she could manage.

 

“What do you mean that we lost two?” Khan exclaimed to the dusty people around him. He was covered in a fine layer of dust himself. They all needed to wash to ensure that the corrosive elements in the grit didn’t cause burns later. But that would have to wait.

“Mica wasn’t with the children,” Swati explained worriedly. “I think he might have gone exploring and we didn’t catch him when he left the group.”

“Kaya was right behind me, I swear,” Joachim added. “I’m not sure what happened to her. We need to get them both back soon if we want to see them alive.”

Khan nodded and grabbed the tricorder from the wall. He worked it deftly and looked for signs of life outside the habitat.

“Dammit,” He cursed. “This won’t work from in here. I’m going outside.” He began to shrug into his protective gear.

“Khan, the winds out there are gale force. Even you will have trouble out there.” Joachim cautioned him.

“I know,” Khan’s expression was grim. “Get a rope, a chain, something long and tie it to me. Play it out as I go. If all else fails, you can drag me back by it. Hurry!” Several people scrambled to obey.

Khan was sliding on his protective gloves when Swati returned with the rope. She fastened it around him tightly.

“Find my son,” She begged him quietly, her dark face gray with worry for her child.

“I will,” Khan squeezed her shoulder in reassurance and headed out into the storm. “Have the medkits ready for when I return.”

 

Kaya stumbled and fell face first into the rise of a dune. Too long. She’d been walking for too long. She should have made it to the habitat by now, she was sure of it. She must have gotten turned around in the storm and missed the string of buildings all together. Now what would they do? She was flagging. The wind had become nearly impossible to make headway against. The cuts on her bare hands and face were getting worse by the minute, and her eyes let loose a constant stream of water to try and clear the dust from her eyes. It wasn’t working. The boy was sobbing softly in the sand next to her. At least he was sheltered from the worst of the storm, but even he must be suffering with only one thin layer of tunic against the biting needles of dust and sand.

And she had no idea which direction to go. She couldn’t even turn back and try to find the barrier wall. But even that wouldn’t help. She didn’t think she could wrestle open the panel to one of the pits alone. They would find no shelter there. But she couldn’t just stay here. That would be suicide. She closed her eyes against the storm and tried to think. They had been at the edge of the barrier wall. If she had overshot the habitat that meant that she had taken them too far west. She could guess east still. They could turn in that direction. It was worth a try. She heaved the boy back over her shoulders and continued her painful slog through the ever-increasing storm.

 

Khan twisted the knob on the tricorder looking for heat signatures as he ventured out into the storm. The wind was fierce and he had to brace against the nearest building to remain upright while he scanned the surrounding area. No luck in this direction. Nothing but swirling dust and wind that tried to blow him down with each step he took. He shuffled along the buildings to keep his sense of direction. Once he rounded the corner at the edge of the habitat he would scan again and hope he found something.

He turned west grateful to not be facing into the blowing wind. It was easier to work here. He held the tricorder up again at let it run through its scan. This time it beeped. Life. He had found at least one of the people out here. He tuned the tricorder to increase its beeping rhythm as he approached the heat signature and plowed into the blowing sand.

 

Kaya fell to her knees and this time couldn’t find the strength to rise. She slid the boy off her shoulders and hugged him to her, ashamed of her failure to keep him safe. The least she could do was offer him the protection of her body from the lacerating wind. Her time was rapidly running out. They would not find the safety of the habitat this way. She needed to find another route.

She heard a rapid beeping rising over the sound of the wind and cringed. Auditory hallucinations. She would die soon. But she wasn’t defeated, she realized with a burst of relief. Her subcutaneous transponder still sat buried under the skin of her forearm. She would access it and beam them both to her ship. Once there they could head to the small medical bay and treat their injuries. She should have thought of it earlier, but it had seemed a short walk to the habitat at first. A completely reasonable goal. And then when the full fury of Ceti Alpha V had close in around her she had forgotten it in her panic. Only now, when she was near the end, did she remember the transponder’s presence.

She started fumbling to pull up her sleeve when a hard, gloved hand closed around her upper arm. She squinted up in the swirling storm and saw a large figure looming over her covered from head to toe in black. The beep of the tricorder was a constant stream of noise now. The figure flicked it off with the other hand and jammed it into a pocket. Kaya had no words to express the joy she felt at being rescued. She merely turned to the stranger to reveal the child wrapped in her arms. The figure paused for a moment and then reached down to scoop the boy up as if he weighed nothing. After settling him on a shoulder, the figure grabbed her arm again and pulled her up into the screaming storm.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hubba hubba.

The walk to the habitat wasn’t far but it was taxing for Kaya’s already weakened body. The wind was stronger than anything she had ever felt in her life. Her savior appeared to be following a rope to lead him back to the buildings in the brownout. She was thankful for such forethought and sighed in relief when she felt the cool metal of the building against her burning hand. A small door slid open and the group practically fell into the dim shelter of the _Botany Bay_.

They were in a room similar to the first one Kaya had entered the habitat through. Wind began rushing past them, pulling the sand away and blowing it back out into the raging storm. When it was finished the door on the other side opened and a woman stumbled into the room. Kaya squinted to make her out but her eyes were too badly damaged from the storm to see anything but colorful shapes.

“My baby! You found him!” the woman wept with relief, hugging the wrapped figure close. “We will take care of him from here. Here is the medkit and clothes.”  She left the pack on the ground and bundled her child away.

“Thank you,” Kaya croaked to the tall stranger, gripping a muscular upper arm tightly in gratitude. “I should have saved us sooner by beaming to the ship, but I panicked in the storm.” That admission hurt, but she had to say it. Her foolishness had almost cost them their lives. She would not hide from it. She would learn from it.

The figure pulled off the dark helmet to speak. Kaya tracked the movement with clouded eyes. She couldn’t see well enough to recognize her savior.

“We have all panicked at some point in our lives. It is what we decide to do in that moment that matters.” Khan’s rolling accent drifted to her and Kaya stiffened. Of all the people she wanted to be alone with right now, Khan was at the very bottom of her list. He ignored her rigidity and instead dropped to the floor to open the medkit.

“How are your eyes?” He asked, all business. Kaya released a relieved breath. If he was only focused on healing her, she could do this.

“I can see general shapes and colors only. And they burn,” She replied. “There are contact lenses in the kit for healing lacerations to the eye, they should work.”

“We need to flush your eyes first to get rid of the grit,” Khan informed her. “Come,” And he took her elbow and led her to the wall. The rushing water from a shower reached her ears and she sighed happily. Her eyes itched and burned. She wanted them clean so badly she could hardly wait. Without asking for her consent, Khan slid his fingers into what was left of her braid and cupped the back of her head. He tipped her face up and began flushing her eyes with cool water. The combination of Khan’s assured handling of her and the water made her shiver as she tried to keep her eyes open under the spray. How did he do that? Just take so simply as if whatever she had was his? And why did she like it so much?

“Enough,” He declared after several minutes, turning off the spray. Kaya shivered from the cold now. Her suit was wet and added to the weakness she felt after trekking through the storm.

“Sit,” Khan said almost gently, pushing on her shoulder so she went cross-legged to the ground. “Do you want to put the contacts in or should I?”

“You do it, please,” She requested. “I can’t see well enough to make it work.” And again he was close to her, leaning over her. She could feel the heat of him through the cold of her clothes. She wanted to move into him, burrow into his warmth. Breathe in the tantalizing masculine smell of him from up close. _Stop it_ , she commanded firmly, but to no avail. She had nearly died out there and now she was safe. Her body was suddenly and only interested in celebrating that it was still alive.

One opaque lens slid in and then another. Darkness closed on her world, but she could feel the healing begin immediately. First the topical anesthetic moving across her eyes to ease the pain and itching and then blessed relief as they went numb. She would have to wear them for a few hours to get the full effect, but then she should be as good as new. But the removal of her primary pain brought all of the others into focus. Her hands and face had taken the worst of the beating and they stung in a throb that matched her heartbeat. And she _itched_. Everywhere. The sand had been fierce enough to pierce even the Starfleet issue material. She was covered with grit and she needed to be free of it now.

“I need to bathe,” She said, swiveling her head in the darkness, trying to figure out where Khan could be. She heard the spray of the shower start up again, and she sighed in pleasure. Rising, she made her way carefully to the sound of the water.

“I’m fine now,” She said to the room at large. “I can take it from here.” The idea of Khan watching her bathe was appalling, and not for any reasons involving modesty. The idea of being blind and naked in front of Khan while he looked his fill aroused her. And it shouldn’t. She was betraying Marla all over again with her desire. She had to keep it in check.

 

Khan watched the blind, shaking woman as she tried bravely to move to the shower. She was a determined one, he would give her that. But she was hardly capable of caring for her own needs in her current condition. Besides, his skin itched from the dust he had accumulated while working outside in the calm. He needed a shower as well. He might as well make the most of it.

“You’re hardly fine,” He contradicted her softly. He grasped her shoulders and moved her so she stood fully under the hot spray.

“No, I… oh…,” Kaya breathed as the hot water hit her face and chest, warming her and easing her itching skin. Khan felt his cock twitch at her breathy moan of pleasure. This was a bad idea on many levels, he contemplated. But having nearly lost her to the storm, he wanted her close to him. He wanted to feel her, know that she lived. He moved close behind her, cupping her shoulders as the spray began to fall across them both. It was bliss.

“You can barely stand, my dear,” He said close to her ear and she gratifyingly jumped at his unexpected nearness. She couldn’t see a thing. Could only touch and feel and hear her world around her. The thought was tantalizing. Would the sensory deprivation make her climax all the harder or would she freeze at her lack of control? “Let me help you,” He crooned softly, and she shivered hard beneath his hands.

 Kaya felt her skin come to life as Khan parted the seam that held her jumpsuit closed. His hands slid over her shoulders and down the front of her chest, exposing her skin to the hot spray. With her vision clouded her senses felt heightened, she knew exactly where he touched and where he missed. Her breasts longed for his caress, and she had to bite back a whimper when he bypassed them to pull the two halves on her suit back instead. She was bare to her navel now, the hot water washing away the dust and grit, easing the itching as he pulled her arms out of the sleeves and bared her to the waist. The hot water rushed into her suit and slid a hot trail along her pussy. She almost moaned at the thought of Khan’s hand sliding into her instead.

 _Keep your head_ , she admonished herself sternly. But that thought flew out the window when Khan pulled her suit to the floor exposing her completely to his gaze. He tapped her ankle and she obediently lifted a foot so he could slide off one pant leg and then the other. She heard a slap as the wet material hit the floor beyond the shower.

She didn’t know where Khan was and it was disconcerting and thrilling. Was he still crouched low or had he risen silently behind her?

“Ahhh,” She sighed as his touch trailed up her calves to her thighs, skimming her buttocks and sliding up over her shoulders again. He nudged her forward until she was fully under the water. She closed her eyes and fell into a sensory dream as he unbound her hair so the grit could be washed away from it as well. She heard movement behind her as he stepped away, but kept still under the jetting water. She jerked in surprise when he returned and slid his hands around her waist. He drew her close and she felt the shocking touch of skin on skin. Her back pressed tightly to his chest, the start of his erection pressing into her behind.

“You’re naked,” She breathed in surprise. Oh, how she longed for her vision right now. She wanted to see him in all of his glory. See the muscles she could feel rippling against her back as his arms moved in front of her. Admire the glow of the lights glinting off of his tan skin. It was unfair to have him naked while she was blind.

“I’m filthy and itchy too,” Khan replied calmly. “Haven’t you ever showered with a man before, Kaya?” He asked, the drawl of danger smooth in his voice.

“Not… clinically,” She managed as soapy hands landed on her breasts and began to lather her. She arched into his touch, leaning her head against his chest and exalting in the play of his fingers on her nipples, twirling the now taut peaks. His chuckle rumbled through his chest and into her ear.

“Then I shall try not to make this too clinical,” He assured her, but then he did just that, moving to her shoulders and face and arms using sure circular motions that left her head spinning. She had no idea where he would wash her next. Couldn’t see the look on his face as he cleansed her thoroughly. She was flying blind with Khan in complete control. The realization heated her even further and she felt a warm trickle of wetness that had nothing to do with the shower slide down her inner thigh.

And then Khan was washing her there too, smooth and unrushed, but not stopping to sample the goods either. Kaya gritted her teeth. Much more of this and she was going to turn around and attack him, vision or no. But she didn’t yet. She held perfectly still as he continued to stroke the soap across her body, flushing away every inch of grit and itch. He finally reached back up and slid his hands through her wet hair, and she hummed in pleasure as his hands massaged her scalp, working every bit of dirt free.

“Rinse,” He commanded her, pushing her under the spray. She did as he said, rinsing the soap from her hair and body. Between gushes of the water rushing over her face and hair she could hear movement behind her. Was he truly bathing too? She couldn’t tell so she focused on getting as clean as possible hoping, pleading internally, that Khan had meant it when he said he wasn’t going to make this shower clinical.

He grasped her shoulders again and spun her from the hot spray. She shivered lightly in its absence, but more from the thought of what Khan looked like under the shower than cold, imagining the rivulets running down that broad chest, across his thick shoulders. Drops that she could take into her mouth and tease on her tongue if only she could see. Instead all she could do was stand there sightlessly and await Khan’s next move while her arousal cranked up hotter. She heard the water splatter as if he was shaking himself off and then was pushed partway into the water again.

“Better,” Khan murmured in her ear, tucking a wet lock of hair behind it. “Now where were we?”

“You had your hands on my breasts,” She reminded him helpfully and he chuckled. “Oh, we are way past that now.” He flexed his hips into her behind, and she could feel him hot and thick and heavy against her lower back.

“Oh my,” She breathed in surprise. Was he just going to bend her over and take her here in the shower? God, would she even _mind_? The thought of that thick cock stretching and hitching into her made her knees weak and more wetness trickled down between her thighs. She was already so hot for him that she doubted he could do anything that wouldn’t send her into a screaming orgasm.

Instead he lifted one hand and brought it to his mouth for gentle kisses on the fingertips. She shook as the slow kisses caused shivers to crawl down her spine. She didn’t protest when he took up her other hand and did the same. Just closed her eyes and let the waves of sensation carry her.

“No,” She protested weakly when he stopped and pulled her hands back to her sides. She didn’t want him to stop. She wanted more.

“So eager,” He complimented her as he transferred one of her hands to his other so he could clasp both of her wrists to her belly. “I love it.”

“Love it more,” She insisted, trying to turn in his grasp so she could drag him down and kiss him. But he held her fast and she suddenly realized that he had trapped her. She couldn’t move in the shackle of his grip on her wrists, forcing her to stay still in the cradle of his arms. She grunted and struggled for a moment, seeing if he would give way. He did not. His soft laughter thrilled her as it trickled past her ear.

“I think not,” He chastised her softly. “It is my turn.” And with that he slid his free hand down her abdomen and slipped one hot digit between the lips of her pussy.

Kaya gasped and arched into his hand, but he lifted his hand away.

“My turn,” He insisted, and she stilled in his arms. Khan was here to play with her, and there was nothing she was going to be able to do but take it, she realized. She shook hard at the thought. God, what did he have in mind? She relaxed her arched hips and went back to a submissive posture. Who was she to question him? She wanted him badly. She would do whatever he wanted.

This time he slid two fingers between the lips of her pussy, parting the folds so that the spray of the water hit her clitoris in an uneven and arousing pitter-patter. She grunted at the stimulation, wanting more, but she held herself still as he commanded. Was he looking over his shoulder at her? Watching her clitoris as it engorged from the shower? God, she hoped so. The thought brought another wave of desire and she bit her lip and moaned low. He was barely touching her and already she was shaking with coiled heat. 

Khan stared down at the sight of Kaya’s pink folds spread between his fingers. He could feel her humming against him, taut with desire and anticipation. Oh, how he loved bringing a woman to climax. Feeling her shake and cry and fall apart in his arms. It had been way too long since he had last had the pleasure. His cock grew harder at the thought, and he pressed it into her lower back for some teasing friction.

The bud of her clitoris was swelling beneath his gaze as he held her spread wide. She was breathing hard, but waiting as he commanded. He loved that she could take direction. Headstrong and defiant in everyday life, but willing to submit to him during lovemaking. If she kept up like this, he was going to keep her.

Kaya burned for Khan, inside and out. She couldn’t see, was left only to feel the spread of her pussy between his fingers, the glancing blows of the water droplets on her exposed clit. It was enough stimulation to arouse, but not enough to make her climax. She gritted her teeth and bore it as best she could. Khan had the upper hand here. If she wanted to come, she was going to let him keep it despite the slow torture he was inflicting upon her. He finally shifted and let her pussy slide closed around his fingers. With one sure movement he moved down and then slid his two fingers up deep inside her.

Kaya screamed just as Khan had imagined she would. Deep and throaty and desperate, her pussy convulsing around him as he forced his way inside. She was hot and wet and glorious around him. Her back arched involuntarily, and he let her slide as she tried to force herself to relax.

Kaya breathed hard and tried to find some sort of equilibrium. It was impossible while she was impaled on those thick digits. She wanted to move, fuck down on him, push him more deeply inside of her, but she knew that was forbidden. She was Khan’s to use as he pleased. She just hoped he pleased her as well in the process.

Fortunately, he didn’t make her wait. He slid his fingers out and pumped them back into her hard and deep. She screamed again, going up on her toes as he thrust into her.

“I’m going to finger fuck you until you come,” He said conversationally over her shoulder. All she could do was nod faintly as he started pumping with a slow, sure rhythm that had her spiraling up and up and up. Her pussy vibrated around his fingers, sucked hungrily at him each time he withdrew, clamping down hard with every thrust back into her body. She shook hard as pleasure burst across every nerve with his thrusting, cries and pleas for more spilling from her mouth as he held her still and had his way with her.

The pleasure was mind-blowing, his speed increasing until she was pulled taut as a strung wire under his assault. She quivered, she begged, and still he fucked her, inching her closer and closer to the edge until she was crying with each thrust. Finally he took mercy on her and slid his thumb between her wet folds to massage her neglected clitoris. She screamed again and went flying over the edge into orgasm, all thoughts of obeying Khan forgotten as she fucked down on him harder, faster, her pussy seizing and clenching around his fingers, her hips rotating into his thumb as he flicked her in time to her cries. He pushed her through one orgasm and into a second, her body blind to all but the pleasure rushing over her, consuming her body and soul.

At the end Kaya was limp and shaking, only standing because Khan still held her upright with his grip around her waist. He slid his fingers from inside of her and she jerked as an aftershock surged through her. Her head hung low, her breath still coming in short gasps. That had been… spectacular. Her muzzy brain struggled for words. The water still flowed over them both, easing her with its gentle massage.

“You were amazing,” Khan rumbled in her ear, turning her in his arms so she could rest her forehead against his broad chest. She nodded softly, enjoying the feel of his bare skin against her cheek. She pressed her lips to his skin in smooth, lazy kisses. She wanted to do more, to please him as he had pleased her, but her ordeal was catching up to her. She felt weak and dizzy. She could do no more than lean against Khan’s long body while she shook with exhaustion.

“And I pushed you too far,” He acknowledged, turning off the water and lifting her easily in his arms. “Let me help you dress.”

“No,” She protested weakly. “You didn’t – You haven’t come yet.”

“Shh,” He soothed her. “There will be time enough for that later.” The idea of a future opportunity to pleasure Khan caused an evil smile to crease her features. He chuckled softly at her look as he wrapped her in a towel and began drying her with quick, efficient movements. He slid her into a soft tunic and long pants. Warm socks for her feet. Then he left her on the bench. She heard rustling movements and assumed that Khan was dressing as well. God, but what she wouldn’t give to see him right now. She could only imagine the ripple of hard muscle in his back, his arms. The taut, muscular thighs he was covering. And his cock… she longed to get a good look at it. The feel of it in her hand and against her back had been glorious. She wanted to see it with her own eyes, suck it into her mouth, and drive him to a screaming orgasm the way he had done to her.

She heard shuffling that sounded like he was moving through the medkit again. She listened intently trying to figure out what he was doing.

“Your face and hands are badly scraped,” Khan observed as he returned to her. Kaya blushed hard. Had he really just taken her when she was a terrible wreck? She had felt glorious, beautiful, in his arms. Realizing that she didn’t look the way she felt brought a wave of embarrassment.

“I’m going to spray this sealant on your face and hands to help the healing and then give you a hypospray for the pain. Close your eyes.” And she did so, feeling the cooling spray wash over her battered skin. It eased the pain she had been ignoring in favor of time with Khan. The hypospray was an added bonus, immediately easing sore muscles and increasing her general lassitude.

“That wasn’t just pain killer,” She observed as relaxation began to slide through her limbs.

“No, it wasn’t,” She could hear the smile in his voice. “You need to rest and that will help you.”

“Bastard,” She growled, but couldn’t summon any real heat. The medicine was doing its work and she was relaxing against her will.

“Come, I will carry you from here,” Khan announced and lifted her easily into his arms before she could protest. She heard the door open and cooler air rushed to meet her as they stepped into the main area of the habitat.

“Kaya!”

“Are you okay?”

“Thank you for saving our son!”

The voices washing over her were disorienting without sight to put faces to the voices. She heard Joachim and Janna, but couldn’t place the third voice.

“I’m fine,” She insisted. “Just tired. I won’t be able to see until the lenses finish working.”

“She needs sleep,” Khan announced.

“I have a cot ready for her. Come with me.” Janna’s voice. And then they were moving through the cramped corridors. They stopped and entered a room just as the hypospray was taking full effect. Kaya could feel her head nodding as she struggled to stay awake. Khan placed her on the cot and two pairs of hands tucked her in. She slurred a ‘thank you’ and slid into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never trust Khan.

It was a full day until Kaya’s vision returned to normal. Long enough that Kaya worried that her corneas had been permanently damaged. And what good was an engineer who couldn’t see what she was doing? How would she pilot her ship if she couldn’t see the controls? How would she continue with her contracts? Even her normal life? But the worries proved baseless. She awoke on the morning of her seventh day at the _Botany Bay_ to clear sight and a relieved mind.

There was nothing keeping her here now, she realized with a start. She had seen Marla’s grave. There was no sister left here to save. And the people of the habitat had grown lax in their oversight of her. She was alone in the small room stuffed with cots. It must be full day. She could beam to her ship and leave these people and this planet and never look back. Her freedom was hers to take.

She wanted her freedom, but she didn’t want to leave these people behind. Not yet. They were nothing like the histories made them out to be. History portrayed these genetically engineered super humans as driven only by ambition and self-interest. Violent, murderous conquerors who would let nothing stand in the way of getting what they wanted. A heartless and cruel people who despised the genetically inferior. She had half expected to find factions warring for dominance when she arrived here. She had been afraid that she would have to rescue Marla from Khan, save her from the biggest mistake of her life. Maybe even find her at Khan’s feet in chains based on the stories she had read and heard about him.

Instead she had found a family caring for each other. How could all of the histories have these people so wrong? They loved their children, worked for the greater good. Survived under un-survivable conditions. Cared for even a genetically ‘inferior’ stranger in their midst. Treated her with kindness and respect. They took her advice seriously and worked together to implement her suggestions. She needed to understand this dichotomy between the historical view of these people and her experiences.

And then there was Khan overlaid across all. He was the driving force behind the survival of these people. He set the tone for their colony. He ruled and his people loved him for it. And, she admitted, she was drawn into the spell of his charisma, authority, and intelligence. His indomitable will. She shivered delightfully at the memory of Khan driving her to climax in the shower. Indomitable, indeed. He had pushed her into the most intense orgasms she had ever experienced using only his fingers. His absolute control over their encounter had sky rocketed her arousal higher than anything she had ever experienced.

She needed answers. She needed to understand why history did not match with reality. And she needed to set expectations if she were to take these people from Ceti Alpha V. She would not be a pawn in any games they chose to play. She would not serve them. She needed her freedom ensured if she were going to do this. Did Khan trust her enough to agree to those terms? Did she trust Khan to keep his word?

 

Khan sat in his study considering his options. His people had to get off of this planet if they were to thrive. But did he trust Kaya enough to let her be their means of escape? Everything about her, from her willingness to help to her insistence that she was here independently while under the influence of the Saurian brandy, indicated that he could trust her. Her forthright desire and unbridled orgasms only lent credence to his suspicions: Kaya was as honest and artless as her sister in this. It was possible that he could trust her to lead them to safety. But there was a vast chasm between possibility and reality that he was unwilling to cross.

What would she want in exchange for passage off of this planet? Could he persuade her to stay with them? Assist them in their first ventures into a new life? Or would she simply drop them at the nearest star base and let them fend for themselves? He needed promises from her before he could move forward. He would prefer to draw those promises from her willingly, but he had the means to force her compliance if necessary. He disliked using the Ceti eels – they had killed several members of his crew including his wife before they had learned how to prevent their entrance into _Botany Bay_. But they were effective in ensuring compliance. They caused the infected to be extremely susceptible to suggestion. The irreversible nature of the infection was an unfortunate side effect. He would prefer not to kill Kaya even if he was loathe to trust her.

That he even cared whether or not she lived surprised him. When he had been warlord, originals had only been a means to an end. Disposable even. Marla and Ceti Alpha V had taught him different. Nothing and no one was disposable on this planet.

A knock on his door drew him from his reverie.

“Come in,” Khan was alert and ready. Just because there had been no alarms did not mean there was no emergency. Anything could, and often did, go wrong our here on this damned desolate rock. And there was no one to ensure the continued survival of his people but him: his superior strength, the power of his intellect. But even those were not enough to set his people free. Only Kaya could do that.

The object of his thoughts crept into his quarters warily. She carried a bottle of wine and two dented cups with her. Khan noticed that her hair was down, flowing in burgundy waves over her shoulders and breasts, but otherwise she was back in her usual attire. Khan almost smiled as he remembered how easily the fabric had parted under his hands while in the shower.

“We need to talk, Khan,” She said firmly as she approached his chair. She placed the wine and the cups on the small table and sat in the chair across from him.

“Indeed. We have much to discuss,” Khan agreed. “No Saurian brandy this time?” He smiled his deadly affectionate smile and watched her pale before him.

“Worst hangover ever,” She grimaced at the memory. “You’re lucky I’m not holding that against you.”

“What are you holding against me?” He asked, mildly curious. She frowned as she considered his question.

“Surprisingly little,” She admitted, leaning back in the chair. “I don’t even have it in me to blame you for Marla’s death. That rests firmly with Starfleet for abandoning you here.”

Marla’s name dropped like a stone between them. She had been Khan’s love, his life. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt regarding the feelings he was beginning to experience towards her sister. He waited for the feeling of betrayal to well within in him, but to his surprise, it did not come.

“Do you regret what passed between us?” Khan asked smoothly as she poured the wine. He did it on purpose to gauge her. He was rewarded to see her hand shake and spill a little of the wine.

“I feel as if I should,” She answered noncommittally. “Do you?” She replied pointedly. “Marla was your wife.” He took a deep breath that ended on a sigh.

“I thought I would mourn Marla forever,” He confessed sadly. “She was the light of my life. So soft, so kind, so sweet and pliant. I was lucky to have her as my wife.” He sighed again and scooped a cup from the table. “But she has been dead for more than three years.” He did not elaborate further. If Kaya hadn’t come here, would he have continued to mourn? Would her loss have continued to eat at his soul until there was nothing left? He suspected it would have. He felt a cold trail walk over his spine at the thought. What kind of leader would he have been in say, another ten years, if he had continued to carry that grief? It would have destroyed him. And he, in turn, would have destroyed his people.

“Is that what you came here to discuss?” He abruptly straightened and put thoughts of his dead wife away for another time.

“No,” Kaya shook her head and sipped at the wine. “I came to discuss terms for evacuating the colony.”

Khan raised his eyebrows as if considering. In truth, she had surprised him with her offer. It was rare that anyone surprised Khan. He could read people easily and well. He hadn’t expected Kaya’s feelings for him and his people to change over a couple of orgasms. It was so traditionally feminine of her that he had put the thought out of mind. Had he known, he would have made her come earlier and more often. He just hadn’t thought that she was such an easy mark. He held his silence to see what other surprising revelations she had in store for him.

“But I need to understand first,” She cautioned. “I came here expecting a group of violent savages. That is what all of the histories indicate. Instead I found a family working together to survive. Explain this to me.”

Ahh… so she wasn’t being feminine and malleable. It was her view of his people that was driving her position. Khan felt a moment of relief. He would respect Kaya less if sex played a major role in her decision making.

“And you will trust my answer?” Khan let his cynicism show for the first time. When had he and his people ever been believed? When had they not been cast as the ultimate villains?

“History is written by the victors, Khan,” Kaya replied. “I want to hear your side of the story before I make any decisions.”

“And if I told you that we purposely set out to overthrow all of the world’s governments, what would you say?” His voice held his dangerous affection now.

“I would want to know why.” Her manner was curious and open. She may even be willing to hear him. Now wouldn’t that be a first in his people’s long history?

Khan stood up with his wine and began to pace the room. He had never told his people’s story to an original. He had never even articulated it out loud for his people. They all knew the story. There was no need to rehash old ills when they were fighting for their lives.

“The world fell into turmoil during the 1970s,” He began. “The cold war threatened to explode into open conflict, and the Middle East had become a hotbed of rebellion and dissent.”

Kaya nodded. This aligned with her understanding of twentieth century history.

“And you were created by a group of short-sighted scientists to bring order to the masses,” Kaya agreed. Khan’s bitter laugh surprised her.

“We were bred by an international consortium made up of most of the world’s governments and a group of elite scientists. The scientists were the tools, not the decision makers.”

“That piece of history never made it into the records,” She said with a frown. “In all accounts the scientists acted independently.”

“Of course it didn’t,” Khan snorted, his bitterness running deep. “How would it have looked to the people if they found out that their own governments had been complicit in creating us? It was easier to paint a picture of government innocence in the face of science gone mad. It made us into monsters. It made it easier for people to hate us and love their governments.”

“Still, you did try and take over the world,” Kaya pointed out cautiously.

“We avenged ourselves upon the very political bodies who bred us,” Khan disagreed, his accent rolling deep as his emotions came to the fore. “We were raised as property. Being bred and not born, we had no rights and no freedoms. We were slaves of the lowest order. And they treated us as such. The horrors that they wreaked upon us when we did not comply…” Khan’s voice trailed off at the memories surging through him. Weeks in a box in the burning sun when he had dared to object to the treatment of his people. Starvation and worse as punishment for even the slightest sign of disobedience.

“They were fools,” Khan continued. “They trained us to be the new military, to serve in the frontlines of the very governments who sanctioned our treatment. But we are not dogs to be whipped into submission by our masters. We are people, and we are superior to our creators in every way. Our training only refined our hatred, strengthened our will to be free. I created an underground communication network to coordinate with my people suffering in the camps around the world. We planned our rebellion carefully. We were superior, but we were outnumbered.”

“And how did you finally rebel?” Kaya was fascinated now, sitting on the edge of her seat.

“They began to deploy us around the world,” Khan explained. “First as covert ops, and, after we proved our worth and loyalty, they began to give us greater access. We waited, coordinated our intel until we had enough information. When we did we hacked and destroyed the entire military grid. They were left blind and unable to act. It was then that we began our take over. The people were sheep, unable to do anything but comply when faced with our forces and our unity.” His voice was strong as he recounted their victory.

“Jesus, Khan,” Kaya took in the information and leaned back in her chair to process it. She sipped her wine for time to think. In Khan’s position would she have done any different? Wouldn’t she want to wreak havoc and destroy her captors? Wouldn’t she hate everyone who had been responsible for her captivity? Oh, she would have made them pay… She found that she admired Khan and his people for their patience, their creativity, their unwillingness to bow before their captors.

“What about now?” She asked cautiously. “Are you still bent on vengeance? You tried to take over the _Enterprise_ , almost succeeded even. How am I to believe that you wouldn’t go on a galactic rampage if I were to set you all free?”

Khan sighed and moved back to his chair.

“You need to understand that when I was awoken from cryogenic freeze I felt I could trust no one. My entire life has been one long fight for freedom. I feared that Starfleet would merely continue the work our creators had started in the twentieth century. I had no reason to trust Kirk, and every reason to distrust the current regime. I tried to hide my identity,” Khan explained. “But once they figured out who I was I knew that I had to free my people and leave before they tried us for war crimes or used us for experimentation. There was no choice.”

“And if you could avoid Starfleet?” Kaya asked carefully. “What would your people want then?”

“Besides a livable planet?” Khan’s response was bitter. “We want opportunity, self-determination. A chance to be more than property or war criminals.”

Kaya frowned as she mulled over Khan’s words. His desires were reasonable, but could she trust him? All she had to go by was Marla’s love for this man and her interactions with the people of the colony. It wasn’t a lot, but she was inclined to believe him. Marla may have been kind to a fault, but her judgement had been generally sound. Working with these people had revealed a tenacity for life that was unparalleled. They deserved more.

“If I help you, I need you to guarantee my freedom and give me my ship,” She leaned forward, cradling the cup in her hands. “I will see you to whatever place you decide. I will help you find a place that is safe and away from Starfleet. I will even give you the supplies I brought. They were intended for you anyway. But I will not serve you, and I need my ship if I’m to continue on after this.”

“You would leave us alone and planet-bound the same as Kirk?” Khan’s voice was a deadly whisper. Kaya started at his feral tone.

“Absolutely not. I will leave you with technology and communications arrays,” Kaya clarified. “Besides, there are many interesting places for ambitious people outside of the Federation. You may not choose a planet as your final destination. You may choose a trading post or a star base on the fringes. There is nothing to stop you from building a life of your own choosing. There is no need for isolation unless you wish it. I would not impose it on you.”

Khan nodded once, decisively. And then smiled the first genuine smile she had ever seen from him.

“Then we have a deal. Let me inform Joachim and the others of the good news, and then you and I will beam up to your ship.”

 

It took longer than Kaya expected for preparations to be made for their departure. She itched, both literally and figuratively, to get back to her ship with its particulate-free, recycled air. She longed to be near her beloved engines again. And she was excited. How often in your life did you get the opportunity to resettle an entire group of refugees? She felt proud yet humbled by what she had agreed to do.

Khan was ready the next morning. He wore a heavy jacket instead of his usual ragged garb. The entire population of _Botany Bay_ had gathered to see them off. Joachim led the group, ensuring Khan that all would be ready for transport in a few hours. The hope in these people was almost enough to make Kaya tear up, but she had never been the sort to cry. She was, however, deeply moved by the gratitude of these people and was excited to see them off of this horrid planet and safely settled in a place where they could thrive. She had been mentally compiling a list of potential places in her head, from fringe planets that could sustain colonies, to some of the more raucous star bases and trading outposts that would benefit from Khan’s strong leadership. The galaxy was going to be their oyster, and she couldn’t wait to see what they would do with their freedom. She daydreamed of long years of communication, watching and helping this community grow.

With farewells said and assurances made, Khan finally stepped close to her. He took her in an embrace to ensure the transporter beam would take him with her. She depressed the subcutaneous transponder in a complicated sequence behind Khan’s back and the beam enveloped them both, transporting them up to her ship.

The ship’s tiny secondary transporter room began to fill her vision as the beam coalesced their molecules on her ship, _The Haven_. Kaya had thought the name silly when she purchased the craft, but now it seemed prescient.

Once firmly back on the ship, Kaya tripped happily to the main controls, but Khan’s hard grip on her upper arm stopped her. She looked up at him quizzically.

“Where are you going?” He asked seriously. She shrugged her arm from his grip, relieved when he let her go.

“To the main controls to restart the life support systems. With no one on board, I decided to conserve energy by shutting down support to all but this room.” She explained carefully. He nodded and she continued to the controls, frowning. Khan followed close behind her, observing her actions intently as she manipulated the panel. A hum rumbled deep in the ship as life support began to churn to life.

“How long must we wait before it’s safe to leave here?” Khan asked, visibly relaxed after seeing that her actions matched her explanation. Kaya breathed a sigh of relief at his gentle question. Of course Khan had been concerned. He was trusting her to lead them to safety. With his past, it was truly an act of faith for him to rely on her, or anyone, for that matter.

“About fifteen minutes,” She replied. “We will hear an all clear when the ship is up to standard pressure and oxygen levels.”

“Excellent,” And a small smile curved Khan’s entrancing lips. His voice was low, seductive, and Kaya felt a thrill of desire at his tone. Completely inappropriate considering the time and place, she berated herself silently.

“Whatever shall we do for the next fifteen minutes?” Khan purred in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Apparently she wasn’t the only one feeling amorous.

“What did you have in mind?” She asked breathlessly, turning to face the seductive man behind her. His smile sent a bloom of heat into her abdomen.

In answer, Khan wrapped a hand around her neck and drew her up into a deep kiss. His tongue parted her lips and drew her into his spell. She met his desire with her own, going up on her toes so she could reach him better. Her tongue danced with his, their lips parting and meeting again and again as their desire began to ramp up. Would he finally fuck her this time? She wondered with a stab of lust. The cold floor of the transporter room suddenly had more appeal than it ought. How would he take her? Would he dominate and force her to orgasm or let her play with the gorgeous body she could feel flowing under her hands as she trailed her them up his arms and shoulders. What she wouldn’t give to have him splayed naked before her, purely for her taking. She would worship that hard body with kisses and nips. Find all of his sensitive spots until she had the great Khan powerless beneath her.

Khan’s hands slid up her arms in a teasing caress. He gripped her palms gently with his and tugged her hands behind her back, arching her over the controls as he kissed her with increasing fervor. Dominance it would be. She sighed into his mouth, anticipating the demands he would make of her. Desperate to please him and be pleased in return.

He was so very smooth in his movements. Lithe like a cat. She melted against him, pushing her breasts into his broad chest. They were aching for stimulation already. Her core was hot and getting wetter by the moment as he continued to plunder her mouth. She was moaning softly into his kisses, enjoying the soft bite to her lower lip and tilting her head back so his mouth could reach her neck. He took her cue and dragged his lips down her neck, biting gently before sucking hard. She knew he would leave a mark if he continued, but the feeling was so divine she didn’t care. Being marked by Khan was one of the most satisfying things she could think of in the moment. It would let everyone know that she was his.

Kaya was so caught up in her desire she didn’t even hear the soft ‘clink’ against the control panel. She was already flying high on lust. Khan had a tight grip on her wrists behind her back and it brought hot memories of their shower surging through her. It wasn’t until cold metal encircled one of her wrists that she realized that something was desperately wrong. She tumbled from her high in an instant and tried to pull away. It was a futile attempt. Khan’s superior strength held her in place as if she were a child. Cold metal encircled her other wrist despite her struggles. She twisted to get away from Khan and stepped free. She didn’t fool herself though – she was only free because Khan allowed it.

“What the _fuck_?” She exclaimed, twisting her bound hands behind her back. She was neatly shackled at the wrists. Khan said nothing. He merely turned his attention to the main control panel. His fingers flew quickly over the controls with studied intent.

“There,” He finally said, turning a deadly smile to her. “I have disabled the virtual interface to the communications array, navigation, and the engines. If you have friends waiting you will not be able to contact them, nor will you be able to sabotage our departure.”

“I don’t have any friends waiting for me,” She ground out, still struggling against the bonds. The servos in her right wrist screamed as she forced them to put pressure on the shackle. “What the fuck is wrong with you? I thought we had a deal!” She backed away from Khan, suddenly realizing that she was helpless before him. A bolt of fear spiked through her.

Khan had tricked her. She had fallen for his story of his people, believed his tale of only wanting a place to live in peace. How could she have let herself fall for his plans? He was the great Khan Noonien Singh, warlord, dictator, and master manipulator. Kaya had fallen for him and his people hook, line, and sinker. Had desperately wanted to believe that these people needed saving and that she could be the one to do it. God, what had she just unleashed upon the galaxy? She was a fool, she realized with disgust. Had Marla come to the same realization after joining Khan on Ceti Alpha V? She would never know. She had foolishly taken Khan’s word that he loved her sister. It had eased her grief to imagine her sister cared for until the last. _Dammit_ , he had played on that chord as well in his bid to get off the planet.

“Our deal is still in place,” Khan offered magnanimously, taking a step closer to her. Kaya backed away a step in return. He smiled like a cat playing with a trapped mouse. “There are just going to be a few changes.”

“Such as?” The venom dripped from her voice. She stood up straight in defiance. Khan may have her neatly captured, but she would not cower before him, she determined.

“You will remain our captive until the ship is safely loaded and we are far enough away from Ceti Alpha V to ensure that no one is following us.” Khan explained, his deadly soft smile creasing his lips. “We will offer you a certain amount of… limited… freedom after that. You will have no access to the communications array. You will only access the ship using physical means, nothing virtual. And you will help us find a home.”

“No one is following you!” She exclaimed in frustration. “And do you really think that keeping me captive will save you from a lurking starship?”

“You will make an excellent hostage,” Khan admitted, pleased. “If we must, we can bargain your safety for ours.”

“You’re a fool and an ass, Khan,” She flung at him, heedless of the consequences. “I would have done all of those things willingly. I wanted to help you. Now you would make an enemy of me.”

“No, not an enemy, my sweet,” And Khan was close to her again, stroking one finger along her cheek affectionately. “Surely you understand my need to be cautious. I have no assurances but yours that you are here alone. I am merely making certain that everything you said was true.”

Kaya shook her head in frustration. She had lost her ship and her freedom. She had only Khan’s assurance that it was temporary. She had no doubt that he would easily change the terms of their bargain to suit his own desires as time progressed. She was well and truly trapped.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fine line between love and hate.

The alarm indicating that environmental conditions had stabilized interrupted the stand-off between Kaya and Khan. They both turned at the sound.

“Excellent,” Khan sighed. “Now take me to your main transporter bay and we can begin beaming up my people.”

“Fuck you, Khan,” Kaya replied. “Anything you want you will have to do yourself. I’m not helping you under these conditions.” He frowned briefly, but then smiled again. Soft, dangerous.

“You could spend your time in the brig instead,” He offered gently. Kaya huffed a laugh.

“This is a cargo ship, not a star ship. There is no brig.”

“You may join me then.” Khan shrugged away her statement and pulled out her tricorder. He downloaded a map of the ship onto the device. Kaya gritted her teeth. _Why was this man so damn competent?_

“Will you come with me willingly or must I drag you through your own ship?” He asked nonchalantly. It didn’t seem to matter to him either way, but Kaya still had some small dignity to preserve. She swallowed hard and committed.

“I will come willingly.”

“Very good,” He purred and led the way from the secondary transporter room, keeping her close at hand.

Khan didn’t falter in his path to the transporter room once and Kaya cursed him under her breath. His takeover her ship had been accomplished in a matter of minutes and now he stalked through her ship as if he owned it.

The main transporter of _The Haven_ was huge and located in the cargo bay. It was designed to handle the transport of large stacks of materials. It could easily beam up fifteen people at a time. The remaining crew of the _Botany Bay_ would be aboard in no time, and then Kaya’s chance for escape would narrow to nil. Kaya carefully slid into a corner of the room to escape notice. Khan went to the main controls and tuned the communications array to old-fashioned radio signals.

“Joachim, can you read me?” Khan asked. A scratchy voice replied.

“Just barely.”

“Prepare the first team for beam up. Fifteen people. We will do this in three shifts five minutes apart. I will initiate the first beam in two minutes.” Khan was efficient as in everything he did.

“Aye, sir.” And the line went dead. Khan turned to Kaya in her corner and smiled.

“We are truly grateful for your assistance, Kaya,” He reassured her. “It is unfortunate that we must go about it this way.”

Kaya shook her head in frustration.

“I can’t prove a negative to you, Khan,” She replied bitterly. “Take whatever precautions you feel are necessary. You will be the fool in the end.”

“I love defiance,” Khan practically purred at her before initiating the first beam.

The first team coalesced before them, and Kaya felt hope rise in her. Janna was among the group. They stepped from the transporter platform, wide-eyed as they took in the array of cargo that packed the hold.

“There’s enough here to supply an entire colony,” Someone exclaimed on a breath.

 _Of course there is_ , Kaya thought resentfully. It had been her intention to resupply Marla and her people in the first place. She had spared no expense for her sister. Practically beggared herself in the process.

Janna strode to her and clasped her in a quick hug that Kaya could not return. Janna frowned and took up the stance of a guard next to her.

“I am sorry for this, Kaya,” She said with genuine sorrow in her voice. “We would love to trust you, but history has proven that we can trust no one.” Kaya acknowledged the sentiment with a grim nod. So much for winning support from within Khan’s people.

The rest of the first team fanned out to explore the supplies and the ship. Kaya felt a stab of concern. Would these people treat her ship well? Would they respect all of its little quirks and needs? Surely Khan would let her advise on how to operate the ship. She didn’t want to die in a warp core explosion because of someone’s impatience or incompetence.

The second team to solidify on the platform included the colony’s six children. Kaya wanted to wave at little Mica, but could not. His mother, Swati, frowned briefly at Kaya, but herded her family away without a word. Joachim was in the final team, and he immediately strode to Khan to update him and await orders.

“All clear except for the greenhouse,” He announced.

“Excellent,” Khan approved. “Have part of the team rearrange the cargo bay to accommodate it. See that all of our people get communicators and then join us on the bridge.” Joachim nodded and moved to Kaya.

“Do not judge us too harshly, Kaya,” He requested. “We will return your ship and your freedom once we are safe. This is but a temporary necessity.” Kaya snorted and turned away from Joachim. She had nothing to say to him.

“Did all of your people know what you planned to do to me?” She demanded of Khan once the others had moved away. Janna winced at the acid tone.

“Only my inner circle,” He replied easily. “Now, let’s go to the bridge.”

 

Kaya winced as Khan took _The Haven’s_ captain’s chair. It wasn’t like she had spent much time in it herself: crewing an entire ship alone left little time for relaxation. But it was symbolic of her utter failure and gullibility. How could she have ever trusted this man? She stared lasers into the back of his head from her position behind his left shoulder. He turned as if he could feel her gaze and simply smiled before turning back to the con.

The people of the _Botany Bay_ were now the crew of _The Haven_. Joachim sat at navigation, Janna crewed the science station, and various faces she recognized occupied the other chairs. Kaya bounced on her toes as they prepared to depart Ceti Alpha V. She wanted to be at the controls lovingly guiding the craft. Watching others handle her baby made her anxious.

“If you truly want to evade that imaginary star ship, I would recommend plotting a series of random warp paths. Make yourself impossible to track,” Kaya couldn’t help but suggest. She wanted her ship back safe and whole, she wanted her freedom. Giving out little bits of information may help get her there. “Maximum is warp four. Don’t take her beyond that.”

“Random course already plotted,” Joachim responded from nav.

“That should have taken at least an hour,” She gasped. “How did you do that?”

Joachim turned in his chair and smiled at her, tapping the side his head.

“You did the computations in your head?” She asked disbelievingly. She knew these people were intelligent, but _damn_. That revelation made her feel downright inadequate.

“She will be slow responding to your commands,” She informed Joachim. “Be gentle with her. She hasn’t the power or the response time of a Starfleet vessel.”

“So we will be exposed as we break orbit,” Khan observed and turned to weapons control. “Shields up, weapons to the ready.”

Kaya laughed outright.

“There are no weapons on this ship. It’s merely a transport vessel.”

Khan harrumphed his displeasure.

“How many hits can we take before the shields give out?” He asked her. Kaya shrugged.

“A couple. Assuming there were any Starfleet vessels out there, which there aren’t,” She spit back. Khan ignored her.

“Sensor scans?” Khan swiveled in his chair to Janna.

“No sign of any ships in the system, but they could be hiding behind one of the other planets or their moons. We wouldn’t be able to see them,” She replied.

“Take her out of orbit, Joachim,” Khan commanded and then added. “Gently.” His tone was laced with sweetness as if in deference to Kaya’s warnings. She felt her blood boil.

 _The Haven_ began its departure from orbit gracefully, and Kaya silently praised Joachim’s light touch on the controls. Now they just needed enough distance from the planet’s gravitational well to safely enter warp.

“Khan, ship materializing off our starboard bow!” Janna announced.

“On screen,” Khan commanded, turning to Kaya with pursed lips. She was officially a traitor in his mind now. Her freedom was no longer an option. Kaya stood frozen in open-mouthed disbelief. How could Starfleet have tracked her here?

The Romulan bird of prey materialized on screen. Kaya’s knees went weak with simultaneous relief and fear. Starfleet hadn’t tracked her, but Romulan’s had. And they were much, much worse. How had they known she was here? What did they want with her? Or were they interested in Khan and his people? Kaya shivered with dread. Experimentation and death were assured for them if they were captured by Romulans.

“Khan, let me free!” She demanded, moving to his side and presenting her wrists. “That’s a Romulan bird of prey, not Starfleet. We can’t take a hit from them with our current shields. I need to get to engineering now and see what I can do. Restore my virtual interface now.”

Khan glanced to Janna for confirmation. She nodded as the computer confirmed the other ship’s design.

“Incoming request for communication,” The man at the communications console announced. “They are asking for you, Khan.” Surprise laced his voice.

Khan’s hands were on Kaya’s wrists. The shackles clattered to the floor. Khan gripped Kaya’s arm before she could move away.

“What do you think they want?” Khan asked. Kaya could see the gears of that massive intellect turning.

“Nothing good,” She replied. “If you think being held by Starfleet would be bad, this would be disastrous. The Romulans will use you up and spit you out. They are smooth liars, master manipulators. Don’t believe a word they say.”

Khan merely smiled. The Romulans may be used to dealing with regular humans. They were not prepared to deal with Khan Noonien Singh.

“Answer them. Stall them,” Kaya advised. “The Romulan’s will know we are planning to go to warp by reading our energy signatures. I have to reinforce the shields and get us into light speed before we take a crippling hit.”

“Go then,” Khan nodded, releasing her and tapping the com controls. “Your interface is restored. I will handle the Romulans.”

Kaya ran for her life, flying through corridors and down Jeffries tubes to engineering. She was setting calculations in her head and feeding them into the computer via her interface as she ran. How much power could be diverted to the shields? Could she assume that the Romulan’s would aim to cripple them rather than destroy them if they tried to go to light speed? In that case, could she reinforce the warp nacelles only so that they deflected a hit?

“Greetings,” Khan’s rolling voice travelled through the ship and Kaya realized that he was broadcasting the communications with the Romulans to give her a heads up in case the conversation went downhill and they needed to get out fast. _Clever_.

“Greetings, Khan Noonien Singh. I am General Aerv,” The militaristic voice boomed across the com. Kaya was slipping around the final corner into engineering as the general continued genially. “We understand that you are, shall we say, unwelcome within the Federation. We have come here to offer you safe passage and an opportunity.”

“I was not aware that Ceti Alpha V was in Romulan space now,” Khan replied with equal diplomacy. “How kind of you to offer us safe passage into a neutral region of space.”

Kaya chortled as she reached the warp drive. Ceti Alpha V was well within Federation territory. The Romulan’s were in serious violation of the treaty to have come this far. Khan’s jibe was well placed.

Kaya listened with only one ear as she pulled up all possible sources from which to draw power to reinforce the shields. She would also need to substantially increase the size of the matter/antimatter injection if they were to move into warp before the Romulan’s could stop them. The option she chose would depend on how quickly she would be able to get them into warp. She cringed at the idea of having to do both, but that might be unavoidable depending on how the calculations turned out. Her poor little ship wasn’t built for speed. She could push the containment field past the limit and still have to wait precious milliseconds before _The Haven_ went to warp. That was plenty of time for a Romulan ship to let loose a volley of shots at close range.

“And as for opportunity,” Khan continued expansively, “We are newly liberated and open to any new opportunities that you may have in mind. What a gracious welcome you are giving us to the twenty third century.”

 _Keep going, Khan_ , Kaya sent fervently as she rerouted everything down to and including life support into the shields. There was no scenario under which _The Haven_ could take a direct hit and survive intact according to the simulations. She was going to have to protect the entire ship or this would all be for nothing. She turned to the injection mix and began ramping up the mixture while keeping an eye on the containment parameters.

“Excellent,” Aerv replied, clearly pleased with the ease with which Khan accepted his offer. “We will send a boarding party immediately to discuss plans. Please drop your shields.”

 _Shit, shit, shit,_ Kaya thought, cranking up the mixture until containment was at one hundred twenty five percent of tolerance. Romulans must not be allowed on board. Surely Khan knew that. And she needed time. Just a couple more minutes really. Enough to fill the reaction chamber with the proper mixture of deuterium and antimatter.

“General, General,” Khan soothed. “I appreciate your kind offer, but what kind of host would I be to allow you to board a lowly cargo vessel when you are most certainly used to the comforts of your fine warship?” A pause for effect, and then: “I propose that I come to your vessel where you will be more comfortable. It will be a sign of good faith between us. Send me your preferred coordinates, and I will beam over with my second in, say, five minutes?”

That was her cue. Kaya pulled from all of the systems except for the bridge, preparing to reinforce the shields and ignite the fusion reaction. It would still take them just under half a second to hit warp. It was enough time for the Romulans to get off a shot or two. She just hoped the boosted shields held. She just needed thirty more seconds for the chamber to finish filling and she was ready to go…

“We can beam you here immediately,” General Aerv offered. “No need to wait.”

 _No!_ Kaya thought. Khan had to stall. Just a few more seconds…

“General, I appreciate the offer, but I would first like to acquire one of our bottles of Ceti Ale from the hold as a gift.  I believe that you Romulans are known for having a fondness for ale?” Khan’s question lingered.

Ten seconds till ignition…

“That is a worthy sentiment Khan,” Aerv was saying. “But there is no need.”

“Ah, but there is,” Khan rejoined smoothly. “As I recall, negotiations among Romulans are heavily laden with ceremonial gifts. I may still be relatively new to this century, but even I know this. I insist that we start out in the best possible fashion to ensure a lasting agreement that satisfies both sides.”

Khan sounded so reasonable, so _fucking calm_ as he said the words. Meanwhile, Kaya’s hands were shaking as she waited for the reaction chamber to be ready. _Two… one…_ and Kaya shunted all power, even from the bridge, into the shields as she launched the matter and antimatter into the containment chamber for ignition.

The entire ship went dark except for the glow of the reactor. _The Haven_ shook massively as soon as the darkness hit. They had taken a hit, but no alarm sounded. Kaya had even shut them down to pull power into the shields. What did it matter anyway? Either they survived the hit or they didn’t. No alarm necessary.

It was the longest four hundred and eighty six milliseconds of Kaya’s life. She watched as the tolerances for the containment field pushed higher and higher into the red. _Shit_. If she’d miscalculated by even a hair, she had just killed them all. Right as she was convinced that all of Khan’s diplomacy had been for naught, the warp engines roared to life and _The Haven_ hit warp one with a shuddering moan.

“Come on, Sweetheart, hold together,” Kaya begged the ship as it strained under micro-gravitational forces. The poor ship just wasn’t built for such a sharp introduction to light speed. She was used to gentler, more regal maneuvers. Kaya quickly shunted power from the shields and into life support and automated safety.

Klaxons immediately began blaring ship-wide. Kaya ran to the safety terminal to see how bad the damage was. They had lost pressure on several segments of decks three through six, but the blast doors were closing and sealing those sections off. She hoped nobody had been in there. If so, they had just been vented into space. Otherwise, the ship was holding. Kaya sighed with relief and turned back to the warp core.

Containment had stabilized to within normal tolerances, but she was still concerned. That core had taken a hell of a beating. She hit the com to the bridge.

“Keep her below warp three. I don’t want us to spring a leak in containment now that we’re free. Run whichever random warp sequence takes us farthest away from the Neutral Zone.”

 

Khan bellowed a laugh as the ship steadied around him. He had forgotten the thrill of high stakes diplomacy, the surge of power that came from outwitting a formidable adversary. They had left that Romulan bird of prey searching futilely for their location. He imagined the look on General Aerv’s face and laughed again. They would never be captured now. Freedom was theirs.

“Damage report?” He called to his crew.

“Several minor hull breaches, but all have been sealed off,” The woman at the engineering station supplied. “We are holding steady at warp three. All engineering systems are stable and life support has been restored ship wide. No serious injuries or deaths.”

“Excellent,” Khan replied and stood. Adrenaline was surging through his veins. He felt his power burning through him. The twenty-third century was theirs for the taking now. Not even Romulans could stop them. Even better, this had not been a victory of one. It had taken the trust of his people and their willingness to risk their lives for him to escape. Oh, how he _loved_ to lead. And he loved his followers.

Only one had not been a member of his crew. The one who had risked the most and saved them at the last minute wasn’t one of his superior race. She was merely an original, but clever and calm in the face of danger. She had saved them with her quick thinking while he had worked to give her time to complete her work.

 _Kaya._ He had to see her. His blood was roaring in his ears. He stood abruptly.

“Joachim, you have the con.” He commanded and strode for the lift to take him to engineering.

The doors to engineering parted before him. He observed several of his crew working at various stations while Kaya sat in a chair by the warp core, her shoulders slumped and a hand covering her eyes. She was in shock.

“Get out,” Khan growled to his people and they fled as one through the open door behind him, leaving him and Kaya alone in engineering.

Kaya dropped the hand from her face at his words and stood defiantly before him. Oh, how he loved her resistance to his power. Few among even his own people had the courage to defy him.

He strode quickly to her, grabbed her by the back of the neck and forced her into a deep kiss. She struggled futilely against him, refusing his tongue entry into her mouth. He smiled against her lips and pressed harder, pushing her until she was leaning backward over the warp control panel. She bit him, hard, and Khan laughed as he used the opportunity to push his tongue into her open mouth. The taste of blood filled his mouth and skyrocketed his desire. He wanted her, and he would have her.

She was beating on his shoulders, trying to get a knee positioned so she could launch a shot to his groin. He forced his thigh between hers, pushing his hips in so that the only thing separating them was their clothing.

“You bastard,” She finally managed, wrenching away from his kiss. “You have the nerve to imprison me and now you want… _this_?”

“You have excellent observational skills,” He chuckled low, crowding her with his body. He wrapped the plait of her burgundy hair around his hand and yanked her head back so he could bite and suck at her neck. She quivered beneath him, but not from fear. Khan could smell the stirring of her arousal despite her protests.

“Fuck you, Khan,” She gasped, pushing against him, scoring his face and arms with her sharp nails. The pain was glorious and Khan felt his cock pulsing with every injury she inflicted on him.

“Exactly,” He purred, diving for her mouth again, biting her back this time, surprising her to open her mouth so he could ravage her.

Kaya shook under the assault, anger and lust burning through her in a volatile mixture. Adrenaline was pumping hard through her veins still, heightening her senses. God, the glorious smell of him wrapping around her, the feel of his cock against her abdomen promising unending delights. But she was still pissed off and hardly ready to give in so easily. She reached out blindly with one hand and locked down the engine console to prevent any accidental explosion, and then swung hard with her enhanced right hand, landing a blow on his rock hard abdomen.

“That’s it,” Khan encouraged her, the rasp of his chin against her neck as his teeth bit at her making her quiver with need. “Get it all out. Take it all out on me.”

She screamed in frustration, hurt, and denial.

“I never betrayed you!” She pulled the scruff of his jacket hard, drawing his face up to meet hers. “You took my ship! You shamed me in front of all your people.” She head butted him hard, stunning even Khan with the force of her blow. He took a step back, wiped blood from his lips and smiled dangerously at her.

“I did,” He agreed pleasantly and went back in for her. He grabbed her by the wrists this time, pinning her hips at an angle so she couldn’t repeat the head butt.

“I don’t want this,” She growled, struggling against him.

“Oh, but you do,” Khan purred, nuzzling her temple and whispering in her ear. “I can smell you. I bet my finger would slide so easily into that wet little pussy of yours.”

Kaya jerked against his restraining arms, wanting desperately to deny the truth of Khan’s crude words. But they only cranked her desire up another notch so that she was finally aware of just how hot she was for him, how much she wanted to fuck him. It pissed her off even more.

“Post-battle adrenaline rush,” She flung back at him. “Nothing more. Leave me be, Khan.” She struggled fruitlessly against his grip. He let her hands go suddenly and she nearly tumbled over from the loss of the force she was battling against. His fists gripped the material of her jumpsuit at the waist and he pulled hard. It tore under his superior strength.

“Have I ever told you how much I hate this filthy Starfleet suit?” He asked conversationally.

“Good!” She spat back. “Let me go!” And she hit him again, this time just a glancing blow to his arm as he shifted faster than she could have imagined to dodge the force of her enhanced fist. And then cool air was hitting her waist and hips as Khan yanked down the lower half of her destroyed suit. She twisted and tugged at the suit in a vain effort to pull it back up, but Khan merely ignored her struggles and lifted her bare hips on to the tilted engineering console. He disposed of the rest of the suit. His hands slid between her legs, roughly grabbing the softness of her inner thighs and forcing them apart so she was splayed and helpless before him. He shocked her by burying his face right between her spread thighs.

The slide of his hot tongue right down the center of her pussy made her jerk and scream in lust and defiance. He held her down with one hand firmly pressing on her abdomen. His tongue finding her clit and swirling over it smoothly, knowingly. Kaya screamed, half pleasure and half fury as her body betrayed her. She was indeed very wet and his tongue slid through her folds with no resistance, leaving behind a hot trail of bliss and want that Kaya didn’t want to admit to.

“Stop it,” She growled, pulling hard at his hair to get him to lift his head. He chuckled and bit her inner thigh hard in warning. The pain increased the pleasure, and Kaya found that she was forcing her hips up to Khan now, drawing his face back down between her thighs. He rewarded her by surrounding her clit and sucking rhythmically on it while his tongue flicked over her with ever increasing speed. Kaya was pumping up to meet him, thrashing, cursing, and begging all at the same time. Unwilling and unable to deny the orgasm that was building fast. She was right at the cusp, head thrown back with her entire body shaking in anticipation. One more hard suck and she would fly right over the edge…

Khan lifted his head at that crucial moment and Kaya screamed in frustration.

“You bastard!”

“You won’t hate me for long,” Khan promised smoothly as he undid his pants and his enormous cock sprang free. Kaya drank in the sight: long and thick with a slight curve to it, his cock was a gorgeous deep tan with a blush of red. He gripped it with one hand and guided it to her pussy, sliding it through her wet folds and over her clit until she moaned and arched, begging for him to fuck her.

He didn’t deny her. He placed his head right at her entrance and inched in with a hitching thrust. Kaya gasped at the stretch, arched into it. He was huge and it was going to take her some time to adjust to him. Khan seemed to know that. He withdrew and slid in again, just a bit farther, drawing a moan from Kaya. He was pleasure tinged with pain as her pussy stretched to accommodate him. Another short pump and the head of his cock was firmly lodged within her. And it was glorious.

“More,” She begged, braced on her elbows so she could watch the slow slide of his cock pumping into her, inch by divine inch. Khan growled in approval and thrust into her again, this time burying himself to the hilt. Kaya screamed as her body convulsed around him in a quick, hard orgasm that barely took the edge off of her need.

“Again,” She demanded, and Khan smiled down at her. His face was alight with barely controlled lust. He reared back and plunged deeply into her again. Kaya flung her head back, unable to bear the dual pleasure of being fucked by him and watching him fuck her. She just needed to feel. The push, the pull, his cock stuffing her full and hitting her g-spot with every thrust. Khan was growling now, his hands clutching her hips hard as he began to pound into her with pure abandon. Kaya was screaming in time to Khan’s growls, her entire body striving to meet every thrust, urging him to go faster, harder until she was consumed by him. She was writhing against him now, seeking just the right thrust, the right push to send her flying over the edge.

And he gave it to her. He roared deep and loud, and the sexy timbre of his voice coupled with his cock hitting just the right spot sent her over the edge, her pussy contracting around him in hard, hot pulls that sent Khan over the edge as well. Searing heat filled Kaya and she screamed in time to the juddering pleasure sending jolts of pure bliss through every nerve ending.

There was only the hum of the engine and the sound of their breathing in the aftermath. Khan braced his forearms on either side of Kaya’s head as he took in deep, long breaths to calm his racing heart. He couldn’t remember the last time he had fucked like that: rough and raw and completely immersed in the heat of passion.

“I still hate you,” Kaya stated calmly, staring up at him with sparking eyes. Khan’s eyes twinkled as he smiled down at her.

“I know.”

 

 

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freedom has its benefits.

Compared to Ceti Alpha V, The Haven was pure luxury. The two weeks the ship spent in random warp would have been tense and unnerving for most, but for Khan and his people it was a chance to relax, revel, and recuperate. They were used to being chased and hated, but they were unused to the simplicity of healthy food, clean clothing, and a hospitable environment. Khan watched his people unite to share out clothing and food, stood by while the automated medical suite examined his people, curing their ills and inoculating them against 23rd century diseases. With their elevated metabolisms his people returned to maximum health in a matter of days. The children grew strong and lively. And Khan’s heart filled with gratitude and relief.  
None of this would have been possible without Kaya, Khan acknowledged. She had saved them all in her attempt to save Marla. He had restored her freedom and returned control of The Haven to her after the encounter with the Romulans. In return she remained distant and professional. Khan couldn’t blame her. He had used their physical relationship to betray her, played on her emotions to ensure his people’s safety. While she may understand on an objective level, emotionally he had done far greater damage than he had intended. He needed to make amends, but apologies did not come easily to Khan Noonien Singh. He had spent his entire life in captivity and betrayal. He owed the universe nothing in exchange for his freedom. Except now, he did.  
Khan watched her. He had thought Kaya feminine and curvy while stuffed into scruffy rags and a Starfleet work uniform. He hadn’t been prepared for the real woman. She was in her element now: her century, her life, her ship. And it showed. The stark braid and work clothes gave way to flowing hair and soft fabric clinging to her body that accentuated her form without objectifying it. The first time he had seen her properly clean, dressed, and wearing makeup, he had excused himself to get rid of the raging hard-on she caused. Yes, Marla was the traditional beauty in the family. But Kaya dressed to accentuate the stark contrast between her burgundy hair and fair skin. The jewel in her temple gleamed letting others know that there was more to her than met the eye. She owned her body and her space. It created an air of both mystery and authority. He knew she had a passion that matched his own. Seeing it so artfully hinted at was driving him mad with lust. It made Khan want to peel her clothes off, devour her, burn with her.  
Even now she was distracting him. They were in a small conference room with Joachim and Janna discussing resettlement options. Khan kept finding his gaze drifting from the options being displayed on the vid screens to Kaya’s cleavage artfully constrained in a crisscrossing dark green fabric.  
“I think the Nausicaan trading post is our best bet,” Joachim was saying with a thoughtful frown. “As you said, Kaya, we can sell the ship, maybe even trade up with what you have in the hold.” He glanced to Khan for confirmation, and he nodded in ascent.  
“And it presents opportunity,” Kaya continued. “Lots of work for an engineer there. A general lack of oversight and mild lawlessness. Held together by a Nausicaan strongman who rules by a combination of brute force and bribery. You’d like him, Khan.” Kaya smirked at him briefly. He ignored the dig. “As smart as all of you are, you will catch on to the way things work in this century in no time. Make some latinum, exploit some small time criminals, hell, you’ll be running the place inside of a month.” Khan knew that Kaya was only half-joking. With his gift for strategy and tactics, Khan could become the de facto owner of this station if he played his cards right. And Khan always played his cards right.  
“How many people occupy the station?” Khan asked, more interested now that possibilities were beginning to unfurl in his mind.  
“It fluctuates,” Kaya replied. “Around eight thousand, give or take for traffic. It sits on the border between Nausicaan and Ferengi space and within reach of the Federation so humans looking for a place to lay low tend to pass through there as well. Good traffic, but not so much that it will ever be a large target. People come there looking for a deal without uncomfortable questions being asked.”  
“Defenses?” Khan snapped.  
“Decent,” Kaya replied. “Several large turret guns, excellent shielding the last time I was there. Strong enough to withstand an attack from outside by the types that come through there. Upgrades would be required if you intend for it to stand alone against a concerted attack by Starfleet or the Romulans though.”  
“She reads minds,” Janna chuckled, flipping the tactical information up onto the screen.  
“How do you know so much about the station’s defenses?” Joachim asked. Kaya shrugged.  
“I may have taken a job or two with Commander Grat,” She smiled slyly. “I upgraded the shields the last time I was there. He was worried about a hostile takeover by a rival. I helped assure the base’s safety.”  
“And downloaded a complete blueprint of the station while you were there from the looks of it. Nicely done.” Janna smirked back and flipped through the technical layouts faster than Kaya could read through them even though she knew them. Khan, Joachim, and Janna were nodding as they absorbed the information easily. Damn, these people were amazing, she thought.  
“So the only way to take the station is from within,” Khan announced. “Kaya, can you assure us of a friendly welcome? We need time to reconnoiter.”  
“Jesus, Khan, you don’t mess around,” Kaya sighed, shaking her head in amazement. “Let’s go one step at a time. Let’s get there, offload The Haven onto some sucker, and see what you think of the place before you set about conquering it. You may not find it to your taste.”  
“I find power to my taste,” Khan growled. “And we have been powerless long enough. Set the course.”  
Kaya nodded, and they all rose from the table to leave.  
“Kaya,” Khan caught her arm before she could leave. “A moment, please.”  
He was standing too close to her, Kaya thought with a little thrill. Despite everything, she was still attracted to Khan. It was foolish of her, she knew. Khan had betrayed her at his earliest convenience, and he likely would again to serve his people. She was wary of him and had to keep her distance despite the attraction. She took a step back into the room and away from him.  
“Of course, Khan,” She didn’t smile, just met him with professional openness. Professional. That’s what their relationship was. That was all it had ever been. He had professionally fucked her into granting safe passage for his people. She would not forget that. He may have loved her sister, but she had only been an opportunity for him. And a fool. She shook her head to dispel the thoughts. “What can I do for you?”  
Khan took in her wariness, her protective stance and felt a deeper twinge of guilt than he expected. He liked this woman, admired her even. He missed her, and not just for the sex. He missed the rapport they had begun to build. She had made him feel more in the last few weeks than he had ever expected his dead heart to feel again. Her distance pained him.  
“I hurt you,” He stated bluntly. “When I took this ship and took you captive, I betrayed your trust. I would like to… apologize,” Even when deserved, the word stuck in his throat, “For not believing you. You are as kind and generous as your sister in your own way. You did not deserve what I did.”  
Kaya felt like she had taken a blow to the stomach. The Great Khan was apologizing to her. Complimenting her even. Part of her wanted to melt into him, accept and believe the apology, give into the attraction she felt for him. But she did not. She was a realist.  
“Thank you, Khan,” She managed formally. “No apology was needed. I understand your position. You couldn’t risk your people’s only chance at freedom. You did what you had to do to ensure their safety. You have returned my ship to me. There was no lasting harm done. Now, I better get to the bridge and ensure that we plot a course for the station.”  
And she left him. Khan, who had always had any woman he wanted, was left standing alone. A burning ache for what might have been lodged beneath his breast bone as he watched Kaya walk away.

Bovet Station orbited a small rocky planet in the Gamma Tau system far from the heart of the Federation. Kaya had Joachim drop them out of warp at a casual distance away while communication channels were opened.  
“Bovet Station, this is the cargo ship Haven requesting docking privileges,” She announced. “We come offering trade and services.” They received the automated signal indicating that they could dock at port A3. Kaya nodded for Joachim to take them in. Khan stood behind her, taking in the orbiting station and no doubt imagining how it would look under his command.  
“On a personal note, please inform Commander Grat that Kaya MacGivers sends her regards,” She added and then nodded for the communications channels to be closed. Khan nodded in approval as he came to stand by the captain’s chair. He must see this as the opening salvo for his clandestine takeover of the station. Kaya simply saw it as good business. They’re goals were in alignment for the moment, so she saw no need to contradict him. Grat had paid her fairly, but grudgingly for her work, and Kaya could think of more than a few people, Nausicaans even, who wouldn’t mind seeing the space station come under new management. Khan and his people needed a home. She wouldn’t stand in their way if they decided to make their visit here into something more permanent.   
But her current priority was to get rid of this ship before the Romulans tracked it. Grat would certainly facilitate a change of name and coding signatures for a price. Perhaps she would have to take on some work in exchange for the favor. And they would have to find quarters for Khan’s people on the station. It would have to central and defensible if she knew Khan. The final task on her list would be by far the most enjoyable: watching Khan and his people adjust to the twenty third century.   
Or would the twenty third century have to adjust to them? Kaya wondered sardonically as the docking clamps locked into place. She was about to find out.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Kaya exclaimed as Janna pulled her into one of the larger establishments of Bovet Station. They had been here for three incredibly successful weeks, and Khan and his people were out for a celebration. “I thought you said we were going to where you work.” Kaya protested in confusion.  
“I do work here,” Janna glowed as she pulled Kaya through the portal doors into a darkened, glittering room crowded with people of all shapes, sizes, and species.  
“It’s a sex club, Janna!” Kaya laughed, finally understanding why Janna had pushed her into wearing something more revealing than she otherwise would have.  
“It’s Grat’s sex club,” Janna corrected her with a wink. “I’m his personal bodyguard when he’s here.”  
“His personal naked bodyguard?” Kaya clarified. Khan’s people were beautiful by any species standards. And they themselves held to their own loose moral compasses. Work as bodyguards and prostitutes had come first and most easily to them, though to her knowledge, Janna was the first to land the job of ‘sexy bodyguard’. She had managed to combine their most obvious skills and score an amazing tactical position within Grat’s inner circle at the club. Khan must be very pleased indeed.  
And speak of the devil… there he was. Khan, in all his glory. Khan, as he was meant to be. Glowing with health and vitality, surrounded by beautiful men and women, giving off an air of such easy authority and charisma that he was drawing stares from even casual passers. Kaya shivered with a thrill of lust when she saw him. She had assiduously avoided Khan since they had settled in at the station. He had his people to care for, and she had her heart to protect. Working off her debt to Grat for the illegal rechristening of The Haven had been the perfect excuse to spend hours in engineering away from that rolling, sexy voice and the pull she felt to him.  
Had Khan missed her at all? Kaya wondered with a spike through her heart. No. Of course he wouldn’t have. And she was a fool to even care. She had been a convenience for him, an opportunity to escape Ceti Alpha V. There was no reason to believe that Khan missed her now that he had a new world to conquer. She was the past. Bovet Station was his future. 

There she was. Khan sighed like a predator spotting his prey. Kaya moved with Janna through the array of scantily clad to outright naked patrons and employees of the club. She wore a full length dress with a billowing dark skirt that balanced her sheer top, adding a level of class to the outfit that he had come to expect from Kaya. Her long hair spilled over her shoulders and back, promising glimpses of treasures to be discovered. She was even more delectable than he remembered.  
Ah, but these last few weeks had been a revelation. Unraveling the cultural and political complexities of a multi-species space station while coming to grips with three hundred years of lost history had been a thrilling challenge. Testing the waters of this new life was exciting. He had drunk and fucked and gambled his way through the seedy underbelly of Bovet Station to uncover every hidden weakness, every exploitable flaw in the current regime. Soon he would be ready to move. Grat was indeed a strongman of the same ilk as the banana republic dictators who had so loved to lord their fleeting power over them in the twentieth century. He knew the weaknesses of these kind well. They had been the first to fall in the 1990s. Grat would be the first of his kind to fall in this century.  
But his impending victory had a hollow feel to it without Kaya there by his side. The grand future he planned lacked the counterpart he needed. A clever, resourceful woman to stand beside him, powerful in her own right. Unique and captivating. Oh, how he missed her in the midst of the fawning pawns and greedy hands of others. They saw power. She saw him. The fucking had been clinical, tactical. Release rather than pleasure, engendering only curiosity at best. Nothing like the heat and passion he felt with Kaya. Nothing that approached the level of desire he had for her.  
Khan slid to make room for Kaya on the couch he shared. Janna guided her and pushed her into his arms. He smiled up at his dedicated lieutenant, kissing the cheek she bent to him before she swirled away, leaving her dress on the arm of the couch as she unselfconsciously went to join Grat and his crew. He watched Kaya stare after Janna as she took her place, naked and proud, beside the station’s ruler.  
“Your people have certainly taken well to this century,” Kaya smiled wryly up at Khan, shaking her head. “You surprise me. Based on what I know of the twentieth century, all of this should be shocking and immoral to you.”  
“Our century certainly did suffer from a certain Puritanical bent,” Khan acknowledged with a slow smile. “But it was never one we shared. We grew up in isolation, taught to do whatever was necessary to survive. Believe me when I tell you that our actions so far do not even begin to fall into the realm of sacrifice. We have all done far worse for far less.”  
Kaya frowned. With their regal beauty, superior strength, and sharp intelligence, it was difficult to remember that these people had been raised in brutal captivity. The result of such treatment had nearly broken a world. It had also distilled them into a race of determined survivors. They would succeed here, whether or not they chose to take over the station. She watched Janna, beautiful and deadly, as she fawned over Grat, and spotted a naked Joachim – now there was a sight – serving drinks to several humans. Both seemed to revel in their positions, enjoying the power their beauty had over others. Khan was right: they were not sacrificing here. They were thriving.  
“And how have you been spending your time on the station?” Kaya asked, raising an eyebrow as she tilted her gaze to meet Khan’s. In the low light she could make out the shadow of his features, the strong jaw, the sensual curve of his lips, his brown eyes turned to pools of twinkling darkness. She was acutely aware of her hip and side pressed against him, of his arm around her shoulders. He moved in close and put his mouth to her ear.  
“I have been missing you,” He purred softly, his breath tickling her ear and sending shivers straight to her core. His fingers softly tipped her chin up, and he placed a long, slow kiss to her lips. His mouth moved gently across hers, and she slid under Khan’s spell despite her best intentions to keep her distance. The glide of his tongue into her mouth was smooth and unhurried, tender even as he explored her mouth. Kaya sighed into his kiss, feeling her body melt beneath his unexpectedly sensual onslaught. She had experienced many things from Khan, but this delicate probing was new. She had mistakenly thought that Khan could only take in his passion. The contradiction to her previous experiences made her core melt.   
Kaya huffed a laugh as he finally released her.  
“That was a very artful dodge,” She complimented Khan as she regained her composure. God, she needed a drink after that kiss. Something to clear her head. As if reading her mind, Joachim swung by and delivered two decanters and slim glasses to the low table before them. He gave Kaya a cheeky smile and wink before sidling back into the dimness of the club.  
Khan merely smiled and poured two glasses from the first decanter. He handed her the glass of Saurian brandy. Kaya’s lips twisted sardonically as he handed it to her.  
“For old time’s sake?” She asked as she raised the glass in a mock toast.  
“Indeed,” Khan replied, clinking his glass to hers and downing the drink in one shot as he had on Ceti Alpha V. Kaya followed suit and felt the slow burn of the brandy begin to take hold. “But tonight is not for interrogation. It is for celebration.”  
“And what exactly are we celebrating, Khan?” Kaya asked, intensely curious to find out what this man was planning, but realizing he would say little if anything in such a public venue.  
“Freedom and success,” Came the smooth reply. “We are in the black now and officially self-sustaining. We can even repay you for your ship soon.”  
“That’s… wonderful,” Kaya managed around the lump in her chest. She was indeed happy for Khan and his people, but she felt cut adrift as well. Khan no longer needed her. The tenuous hold she had on him had just snapped, and she felt as if she were falling. No more Khan in her life. Janna and Joachim as her friends at least, but they would all become distant acquaintances soon. She would move on from here once she had a new ship. She was nearly broke. She had money to make, new contracts to discuss. She had even heard of a transwarp drive that was being built and needed some skilled warp core engineers. She would love the work. But she would be lonely as she travelled through space. For the first time in her life, she realized work alone would not be enough to sustain her.  
“Ah, the show has begun,” Kaya managed, pulling away from her depressing thoughts and turning to face the stage. She realized with a frown that the couch she shared with Khan was empty now. Where had his people gone?  
The answer was clear as the stage lights went up. Dancers in glittering body paint swirled across the stage to low thrumming music. The humans were perfect and elegant, smooth and sensuous in their movements as they slowly approached one another. Too perfect. Too elegant. They were Khan’s people.  
“You own the show?” Kaya gasped, unable to drag her eyes away as a naked Joachim spun a woman into his arms, kissing her deeply while she began working his cock with a beautiful, shiny lubricant that highlighted its beauty.  
“But of course,” Khan purred in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. “Grat loves his sexual pleasures. What better way to get close to him than to present him with the very objects he desires?”  
“And your people don’t mind?” Kaya wondered aloud, entranced by the scene on the stage. The woman Joachim had been kissing was now on her knees, sucking his long cock into her throat. Khan’s deep chuckle rumbled through his chest and into hers.  
“Does it look like they mind?” He asked softly, that dangerous edge creeping into his voice. It reminded her that she had to be careful with this man. But it was hard to think of distance and professionalism when she was pressed against his hard thigh and watching three couples move through a sensuous, twining dance of lovemaking. They were gracefully switching partners, heedless of gender as they bent to pleasure one another. The crowd was transfixed by the elegance of their movements, the obvious pleasure of the participants. Kaya knew that many would pay exorbitant amounts to have a dancer or two to themselves after the performance. Khan’s people had struck the mother lode.  
Khan watched Kaya watch the show. She was as entranced as the rest of the audience. And how could she not be? Watching his people flow across the stage caused a burn of lust to curl in his own belly. He watched as a woman was artfully bound at wrists and ankles by silk scarves and spun up from the floor. The fabric billowed around her, hiding her form as the group twirled and lifted her through the dance. Khan knew the routine. Soon she would be suspended in the air, spread eagle and ready for the taking.  
Kaya’s breathing had increased, and she was leaning forward to watch the show, her eyes wide with fascination. Khan had her exactly where he wanted her. He poured two drinks from the second decanter and placed one in Kaya’s limp hand, curling her fingers around the glass.  
“Drink,” He commanded her, and she obeyed without thinking, her eyes never leaving the stage. He followed suit, but his eyes stayed on Kaya. Leaning forward as she was he could finally get a real look at her in her dress and felt his cock harden. The two sheer strips coming from the waist of her dress tied behind her neck. The sheer turned barely opaque as it flowed to cover her full breasts. He could see the sides of them peeking out to form beautiful cleavage. He longed to bury his face there, to lick the skin that was so tantalizingly revealed.  
“Khan! That was avu,” She whispered in surprise. Avu was an aphrodisiac, outlawed within the Federation outside of the Rigel pleasure colonies.  
“I am aware of that,” He smiled down at her, refilling their glasses. Khan had enjoyed the drink a number of times since he had been here. It had certainly made bedding that Nausicaan female bearable. He looked forward to its heightening his arousal while he was with a woman he truly wanted.  
“Hasn’t history demonstrated that you don’t need to drug me for me to want you?” She admitted slowly. But that didn’t stop her from taking another long sip of the avu. She had experienced its effects before. It was arousing without being intoxicating. It set the skin on fire, made each touch a sensual drag that burned straight to her core. Lowered sexual inhibitions that were already dangerously low where Kaya was concerned. She felt the desire bloom in her chest and begin to radiate through her limbs, making them heavy and light at the same time. Her eyelids lowered halfway as she watched Khan drink his avu as well. He wanted to share this high with her, and the knowledge made her pussy clench in anticipation.  
“I was hoping to do so without taking as much damage as I did last time,” Khan chuckled darkly. He pulled Kaya across his lap, draping her legs over his thighs so she could still watch the show. The woman on stage was fully spread now, one woman lapping daintily at her pussy while another man slid his cock in and out of her throat. The moans were delightfully musical, enhancing the atmosphere created by the dim light, the glitter, and the thrumming low music.  
“Jesus, Khan,” She breathed, her chest heaving as the avu began to take effect. “Your people certainly know how to put on a show.”   
“But of course,” Khan agreed, pressing the base of his cool glass of avu between the top of her breasts. “We are superior in all ways.” She shivered hard in his arms and moaned softly when he replaced the cold glass with the heat of his tongue swirling along her skin. She was delicious. Sweet with her own taste, delectable even without the avu heating his veins.   
He lifted his head to gaze into her eyes. They were dark in the dim light, pupils already blown wide from the small amount of avu and what he knew was her own innate desire for him.  
“Finish your drink.” His command was smooth and undeniable. But Kaya surprised him by tipping her own glass to his lips instead.  
“You first,” Her voice was husky and low with desire. He complied, enjoying the unexpected pleasure of her serving him. Kaya stared at Khan’s neck, watching the muscles work as he swallowed obediently. She would have her tongue there soon, she promised herself. Just the thought of running her mouth down the smooth column of his throat had her pussy weeping with desire. He would feel amazing under her tongue. She moved to straddle him as he finished her drink and followed through on her desire.  
He tasted wonderful. All male, all testosterone. Smooth skin coupled with the occasional rasp of stubble as she kissed and licked under his jaw. She felt more than heard the low rumble of pleasure welling up from his chest. She bit him lightly, dragging her teeth along the sensitized skin. The avu was clearly affecting Khan as much as it was affecting her.  
He threaded his fingers through the hair at her nape and pulled her back from her delicious exploration. He tipped his own glass to her mouth and she swallowed greedily. Kaya had never felt the avu take hold of her as it was now, but then, she had never used it with someone who inflamed her when she was dead sober. She could feel Khan’s cock, hard and thick, pressing against her through the fabric of her skirt. She wanted to touch him, pull that gorgeous cock into her mouth and throat. She didn’t care that they were in public. She wouldn’t be the only one giving head in this bar as the show continued to wind up the audience. Many people brought or paid for companionship so they could voyeuristically engage in the show. That was the entire point.  
She licked her lips slowly and purposefully when Khan took the empty glass from her. She leaned in close to him, her breasts pressing close to his face as she whispered in his ear.  
“When was the last time the Great Khan Noonien Singh had his cock sucked in public?” She purred, rubbing her nipples against his face. His deep moan was answer enough for her, but his teeth closing over one nipple through her dress and biting hard stopped her from moving for a moment. She grunted, feeling her pussy clench just from that one heated drag of his mouth. She felt empty and hollow, sure that if he bit her nipple again with one finger slid deep inside her that she would come right there.  
Priorities, she reminded herself sternly. There was unlikely to be another chance that she would have Khan at her mercy. This might be her only opportunity to taste him. She would not miss out.  
Kaya flowed from Khan’s lap and sank gracefully to the floor. Khan’s breath hitched at the totally submissive position she had taken before him. It had indeed been centuries since anyone had sucked his cock. Marla’s sensibilities had been too delicate for him to ask for such delights. The sight of this woman on her knees, clearly anticipating the feel of his cock in her mouth had him straining against the confines of his trousers. It was more than just the avu. It was the thought of Kaya pleasuring him that truly sent his lust skyrocketing.  
She ran her palms up his thighs in a slow drag, coming up on her knees so she could put her mouth on his aching hardness through the fabric of his pants. She hummed a warm breath along his shaft, sending a thrill of anticipation through him, making his hips jerk in pleasure. She paused and smiled devilishly up at him.  
“I haven’t even gotten started,” She admonished him with a wink. Before he could think of a retort she had his pants open at the top and was licking the head of his shaft where it lay pressed against his abdomen. Smooth, swirling strokes around the tip, her tongue dipping in to tease the slit at the very top. He moaned and clenched his fists at his side to keep from burying them in her hair and forcing her mouth down on his cock. Waiting, wondering, anticipating her next move was so much better than brute force. Khan glanced to the stage where Joachim also had his head thrown back in pleasure as one of the other men drew his cock into his mouth. God, this was just too good. All of the stimulation heightened by the avu pounding through his veins and this woman kneeling at his feet.  
She finally freed him, stroking him slowly, almost reverently in a smooth pump from base to tip.  
“You have a beautiful cock,” She complimented him, and then smiled seductively up at him. “It will look even better in my mouth.”  
“Please,” Khan jerked in her grasp, her words sending lust spiraling through him. God, he wanted the feel of her slick heat encompassing him, wanted to feel her tongue working his shaft. How long was she going to make him wait?  
The woman had some mercy in her. She held him by the base and slid her mouth over and down his cock in a wet suck that had him gasping. Her tongue flicked along the underside of his head, hitting just the right spot so he moaned and pumped in appreciation. She took his cue and began to slide her mouth up and down his shaft in earnest. He was so big that she could only get him halfway into her mouth, but he didn’t care, not with her hand working a smooth counterpoint to each deep dive onto his cock, not with the tiny moans of pleasure she was making as she took him in. His blood roared in his veins, the rhythm increasing, carrying him toward orgasm.  
But she wasn’t done with him. With one firm dive she loosened her throat and took him in all the way to the base, her face buried against his belly as her throat fluttered over him as she swallowed. The feeling of being completely engulfed by her wet suction had Khan straining not to buck against her. He wanted to pump into her furiously, feel the orgasm building in his balls, take her and take her until he came so hard that his head exploded.  
And she knew that.  
Kaya pulled Khan’s fists from his sides and placed them on her head, encouraging him to set the pace that he needed. He was thick and long and buried deep in her throat. She wanted to please him. Give him the best damn blow job he had ever had in this or any other century. Khan moaned low, fisted his hands in her hair, and began pumping her onto his cock. She gloried in it. Reveled at his loss of control as she swallowed around him, her tongue swirling under his shaft to increase the stimulation as he pumped her harder and harder onto him. He was stripped down and brutal in his need, his cock twitching in her mouth, fluttering in her throat as she swallowed around him. His hips were jerking hard, his hands twisting in her hair as she held on for dear life and sucked. His cock expanded in her throat, precum sliding down with her saliva. And then he was there, holding her hard against his body as his cock jerked and spasmed in her mouth, his breath coming hard and fast as he jetted into her throat, coming hard and long.  
Khan was devastated. His entire mind blown. He was vaguely aware of Kaya moving to cuddle next to him, her flowing skirt artfully concealing his nakedness. He couldn’t move, the aftershocks of his orgasm still flowing through him, making him shudder occasionally in the dim club. God, where had the woman learned to do that? Avu or not, it was the best blow job he had ever had, and he considered himself a connoisseur.   
His senses finally trickled back. Khan pulled Kaya onto his lap and kissed her darkly, deeply, tasting himself on her tongue. She broke away and shared a quick shot of the Saurian brandy with him. It revived him. He examined the woman in his arms. She was breathing fast, desire riding her hard as she watched the show continue to unfold before them. Khan followed her gaze. A different woman hung between the silk ropes now, but she was in control, using the leverage to plunge herself up and down on Joachim’s cock buried deep in her ass.  
Ah, his Kaya. So very different from her delicate sister. A woman who knew what she liked and what she wanted. A woman who didn’t hesitate to take it. He could spend a lifetime with a woman such as this.  
But he likely didn’t have a lifetime. He had betrayed Kaya and broken her trust. He only had tonight to show her how he felt. Only the avu and the brandy between them serving as a thin veneer to justify their attraction to one another. Khan wasn’t a stupid man. He would take what he could get and ask for more later. Now was the time for action. He felt his cock stir as he realized the night wasn’t over. Stamina was only one of the benefits of his genetically engineered nature, but it was one he planned to take full advantage of this evening.  
Kaya shivered hard as Khan’s hand crept under the sheer fabric of her dress to cup and knead one of her breasts. Lust sparked through every nerve, tingling in her fingers and toes, coming to rest in her core as he toyed with her lazily. Her body caught fire, the burn of the avu trembling through her. She was left quaking with hunger after going down on Khan like that, but she expected nothing in return. Men typically did not reciprocate after such an intense orgasm. She had resigned herself to just enjoying the high from the avu without release. She would find that on her own later.  
Khan had other ideas.  
“Would you prefer that was you up there?” He whispered in her ear, circling one hard nipple gently with his finger. “Would you like me buried to the hilt in your ass?” And he pinched her nipple, causing a gurgling cry to twist from Kaya’s lips. The imagery shattered her control. Oh, to be impaling herself on Khan in front of an audience, marking him for all to see. He pinched her nipple again and her pussy clenched on frustrating emptiness.  
“Answer me,” Khan insisted, twisting her nipple hard between his fingers. The pleasure spiked with pain cranked her arousal higher, and she arched into his hand.  
“Yes,” She hissed. “I would love that.” And she squirmed on his lap, desperate for some small release.  
“Ah, my poor dear,” Khan purred in her ear. “How you are suffering right now.” And he bit her earlobe gently.  
“You have no idea,” She whimpered, thighs clenched tightly together, trying to get some friction against her needy clitoris. She almost cried when the woman on stage came in lilting cries around Joachim’s cock.  
“Let me help you,” Khan offered darkly, his rolling accent sending shivers down her spine. He rearranged her easily so her knees straddled his lean hips. His hands trailed under her skirt, skimming bare thighs and cupping her ass in his large hands. Kaya gripped Khan’s shoulders hard and buried her face in his neck. Every stroke was torture now. Her thighs were quivering, her breath hitching.  
“Please,” She gasped, her pussy aching for his touch. Finally Khan slid one finger between the lips of her pussy, barely grazing her sensitive clit. She jerked hard at the light touch, thighs clenching on nothing but air as he glided through her wet heat to swirl his finger just inside her entrance, teasing her. She whimpered low and rocked her hips in desperation.  
“Shh, I’ve got you,” Khan murmured, done toying with her. He slid two fingers deep into her wet heat, pressing his thumb against her swollen clit.  
Kaya spasmed hard around him, muffling her cries in Khan’s jacket as the orgasm raced through her. She couldn’t even move. All she could do was take as he scissored his fingers deep inside her and pressed harder against her throbbing clitoris. Light exploded behind her closed eyes, her body convulsing against him, clutching around his fingers, desperately taking what he was giving her. It wasn’t nearly enough with the avu humming through her veins.  
“More,” She begged in his ear. “Please.” Her voice trembled, her pussy ached as he slid his fingers from her. She wanted, needed more from him. And he didn’t disappoint her. Her eyes widened, and she pulled away to stare into his eyes as he positioned his hardening cock at her entrance. How could he possibly be ready to have her after such an intense orgasm? She didn’t care, just moaned gratefully as he stroked himself once, twice, until he was standing stiff and ready for her.  
“Will this work?” He asked silkily and drew her down onto his cock. She was so wet that the broad head slid inside easily, giving her the stretch she needed. Kaya moaned and sank the rest of the way down, every thick inch giving her the penetration her body craved. Without the avu and the Saurian brandy she might have cared that she was fucking Khan in public, but between the aphrodisiac, the stunning show, and the thrumming music she couldn’t bring herself to care. She just took what he offered, sliding down until she was stuffed full of Khan, her body throbbing in pleasure.  
“Yes,” She sighed in contentment, pulling his mouth to hers for a deep, lashing kiss as she began to ride him in the dim club. Her flowing skirt saved most of her modesty, but only a fool wouldn’t know what they were doing in the middle of the room. She slid up and slammed back down onto Khan hard. She was beyond finesse now. She was only brutal, mind-blowing need. And he met her with the same, gripping her ass and pumping into her with determined force, hammering hard up into her, pushing the air from her lungs.   
Kaya wanted to scream her pleasure as she soared higher and higher with each thrust, but instead she buried her mouth in Khan’s shoulder, biting him through the soft cloth of his jacket. If she was hurting him, he gave no sign that he cared. He simply continued pistoning her up and down on his thick cock, showing her no mercy. She wouldn’t have it any other way. Her pussy wept around him, convulsing with each brutal thrust down onto his cock. She was stretched so wide that each slide sent juddering sensation into her clitoris, doubling the pleasure, increasing her speed, until she was caught up in one long, shuddering orgasm. Her body milked him hard with each thrust and she continued to come around him, driven by the avu into a totally new high. She never wanted to stop.  
Khan drove up into her as he slammed Kaya down onto his throbbing cock. She felt like wet silk around him, tight and hot. Gloriously spasming around him, driving him higher and higher until he lost all control. She weighed nothing compared to his strength. He took over now, lifting her off his cock and pushing her back down with furious intent, plunging up into her over and over until he felt his balls draw up tight with the impending orgasm. He would have roared his pleasure any other time, was tempted to despite the public nature of their coupling. Instead he mimicked Kaya. He grabbed her shoulder and bit her neck right above it, sucking hard as his world exploded around him in a glorious mixture of light and heat.


	9. Chapter 9

Kaya rested her head on Khan’s shoulder slowly sliding down from her orgasmic high. Her body still twitched occasionally around Khan, loathe to give up the pleasure of his cock buried deep inside her. Khan was equally lethargic, gently stroking her back in long, smooth strokes but not moving otherwise. That had been too intense, too surreal to be explained away by a simple aphrodisiac. The drug had taken their innate attraction to a new level. Kaya’s heart hurt despite the ricocheting pleasure of her body. She wanted this man for more than simple fucking. She wanted to stay with him. She wished that she had even a modicum of the class and sweetness that Marla had. Maybe then Khan would want her for more than pleasure. Maybe he would have been able to love her.

She wrapped her arms around Khan’s neck and held him close. She had now. She would take now and worry about her feelings later. She memorized the feel of his sleek hair running through her fingers, breathed his heady scent deep to keep with her, lazily kissed his temple and cheek. It was affection that she could steal under the guise of the _avu_. She would take it all and store it up for the long, lonely nights ahead. She gladly met Khan’s mouth for a deep, gentle kiss. Their tongues danced languidly, tasting each other, learning each other slowly without the usual fury of their passion. If she didn’t know otherwise, Kaya could mistake that kiss for deep affection on Khan’s part.

A chorus of hooting and clapping broke their spell. The show had come to its conclusion and the club patrons were roaring their approval. Kaya carefully disengaged from Khan and slid back beside him on the couch. As the show’s owner, Khan had work to do now. Clients to engage, money to make. Their interlude was over. She considered ducking away, but Khan’s hand possessively clasping her knee kept her in place.

Kaya didn’t really want to leave, and she settled back into the sofa contentedly to watch Khan do business. She was possessive of Khan in her own way. At least for tonight, he was hers. She was glad to know that Khan felt the same way. And the night was young. There was no reason to assume that they were finished with each other. She smiled at the thought. _Avu_ or not, she could go another few rounds with Khan. Whatever they had between them burned with a passion more intense than she had ever known. She would suck every drop of it dry, staying until she was forced to leave.

Now there was a thought to be examined. Why not make herself available to Khan beyond tonight? What did she really have to lose in the end? She had already lost her traitorous heart to him. He had already betrayed her. She knew the limits. Love while she could, trust in him for nothing. Take the pleasure, leave the pain. It was a heady thought laced with regret. She was a fool: she could have taken this approach weeks ago and saved herself interminable days of longing. She could have been in this man’s bed, taking all of the pleasure he had to offer rather than wasting her hours pining for him deep in the bowels of the space station. In the end their association was transient. She would not waste another minute of it.

Decision made, Kaya slid her hand down Khan’s thigh and kept it there with the same possessiveness he was using. He smiled briefly at her in approval and turned to face one of many excited clients for the evening.

It was an enlightening performance for Kaya. Khan shifted from alpha male to simple tradesman without missing a beat. He was affable; smiling, and generously sharing the brandy and the _avu_ as he negotiated with potential clients. The Ferengi in particular were interested in the women, trying their best to drive hard bargains despite their lust. Khan merely smiled and spoke of expenses and delights, revenue and pleasures to be had. Oh, he had learned the way to the heart of a Ferengi well in these last weeks. Kaya smiled behind her glass of Saurian brandy, watching as each Ferengi crumbled beneath Khan’s inexorable demands. No wonder Khan and his people were turning a profit.

Negotiations were interrupted by the approach of a huge Nausicaan. Grat stomped into the middle of the group and hissed aggressively. Ferengi fled in all directions, and Kaya couldn’t blame them. Grat was large even by Nausicaan standards, his facial plating mottled with proud battle scars. He stood well over two meters tall with shoulders broad enough to make even Khan look small. Janna walked proudly beside him, taking a position behind the couch when Grat sat. Kaya wondered if Grat realized he had just put an enemy at his back. She had little doubt that Janna could break Grat’s neck if she put her back into it.

“I want them all,” Grat declared, stretching his long legs so he took most of the space in the seating area. It was a blatant show of dominance over Khan. Kaya was surprised to find that Khan simply ignored it, pouring two large glasses of the Saurian brandy and pleasantly handing one to Grat.

“Of course that can be arranged, Commander,” Khan offered smoothly as he handed Grat one of the glasses. He leaned back, open to bargain. His hand still rested lightly on Kaya’s knee “There is just the simple matter of latinum to discuss.”

“I don’t think you understand, Whoremaster,” Grat countered, swallowing the brandy in two huge gulps. He wiped his hand on his sleeve before slamming the glass back on the low table. “I want them for good. As my own property.”

Khan’s relaxed posture did not change. He met Grat’s demand with a soft, almost affectionate smile. Kaya knew this boded ill for Grat. And she was sure that Grat was unaware of that fact.

“My people are not property to be sold,” Khan explained patiently, the smile never leaving his face. “They work for me of their own free will. I may loan them out for a price, but they are not mine to sell. We have a profit sharing arrangement.”

“I am commander of this station,” Grat warned Khan, coming to stand to his full height. He stood menacingly over Khan. Several Nausicaans suddenly surrounded their small seating area, pistols drawn. “Give them to me or I will take them from you.”

Khan’s rolling laugh broke the sudden silence of the club. Patrons were slowly stepping away from the impending altercation. They had all seen Grat in action before. There was a reason he ruled here: he was brutal and efficient and his soldiers were well trained.

“I think not,” Khan contradicted smoothly, taking a small sip of his brandy as if impending violence was not surrounding him. Kaya glanced around surreptitiously and noticed that a number of Khan’s people had taken nonchalant stances behind the Nausicaan guards. Grat was walking into a trap and didn’t even know it.

“I think your life is forfeit,” Grat laughed. He lunged for Khan with a speed that shocked Kaya. She knew Nausicaans were fierce in battle, but she had never actually seen them fight. The only sign of Khan’s preparation was a slight tightening of his hold on Kaya’s knee. Before Grat could come within striking range, Khan kicked out with both legs. He hit Grat squarely in the gut and the Nausicaan went down, smashing the table with his bulk. Commotion ensued. Grat’s men had trained their weapons on Khan, but suddenly found themselves disarmed by the lithe movements of Khan’s people, their own guns pressed to their heads. Janna jumped over the couch, landed lightly with her legs straddling Grat’s hips. With a powerful twist and jerk, Janna snapped Grat’s neck before he could recover his breath.

Cries went up from the crowd. The ruler of the station was dead, but his second and the many Nausicaan warriors were still there to be reckoned with. One killing blow would not be enough to ensure the safety of Khan and his people. Khan knew this. He took a casual sip of his brandy and purred to his people:

“Kill them all.”

Action was swift. The sweetly flowing dancers of ten minutes ago became hardened soldiers. A series of sharp reports followed by the loud thuds of dropping Nausicaans filled the club. Silence reigned in the club now. Khan sighed and finally stood to face the crowd.

“As you can see,” Khan announced with his deadly calm. “I will tolerate no slave trading on this station. Those of you interested in conducting business otherwise may continue to do so. Under my regime, I expect ten percent of all purchases to come to me.”

A gasp went up from the crowd. New management had just come to Bovet Station and lowered taxes by five-fold. It was a clever maneuver. Rebellion would be far less likely with such generous terms coming from new management.

“Now, if you will excuse us,” Khan smiled at the crowd. “We have work to do.” Khan turned and held one hand out to Kaya. She took it, impressed by Khan’s swift actions and the ease with which he was executing this coup. He pulled her to stand beside him.

“Kaya, take a group to weapons and engineering. See they are secured against incursions.” Kaya nodded feeling a bit numb. Had she just been promoted to lieutenant? Time enough to examine that later, she decided. She nodded to several of Khan’s people and led them quickly but calmly to engineering. There was no going back now. Khan had played his cards and pulled her to his side. If she wanted to live through this, she had to obey, and swiftly.

“Joachim,” Khan turned to his second. “Take a team to the Nausicaan section of the station. Inform them of the change in command. Kill any who disagree. Janna, go to our quarters and prepare for a counterattack. I will be in the command center. Bring reinforcements there.”

It was a long and bloody night on Bovet Station. As anticipated, Grat’s clan did not take the news of the change in management well. Joachim cut a bloody swathe through the Nausicaan section of the habitat showing no mercy. After securing engineering and weapons, Kaya was ordered to the command center. Her knowledge of the workings of the station were a critical piece of this takeover, she realized. She cut loose all ships with loyalty to Grat from the docking clamps. Khan gave them a brief overview of the new situation and suggested that they leave in peace. Many did, but the few who stayed fell prey to Kaya’s command of the turret guns. With her virtual interface tied into the main computer she could run the weapons and maintain rotating shielding.

Aside from half a dozen Nausicaan ships, nearly all of the other ships docked at the station chose to remain. It didn’t surprise Kaya. At least half were Ferengi who could smell greater profits in the air. The humans were inclined to stay assuming that they would have some sort of preferential treatment under a new, human-led regime. And as the violence was limited only to those who tried to overthrow Khan and his people, there was surprisingly little resistance from the station’s inhabitants themselves. Grat had not been well loved with his greed and tendency to violence. A new commander offering lower taxation and a surgical culling of his enemies was not enough to do more than raise a few eyebrows.

Kaya was slumped at the weapons station in the command center. It was well into day rotation on Bovet Station. Day One under new management. She still wore her revealing dress from the club. Her eyes were itchy with sleep, her body twitched from the aftershocks of adrenaline and the _avu_. Life with Khan was exciting if nothing else, she admitted sleepily.

Warm hands landed on her bare shoulders and began to knead the tight muscles. Kaya sighed and relaxed into the massage. She could feel the heat of Khan’s body against her back. His presence was soothing despite his deadly finesse in battle. His warm touch made her feel both safe and appreciated.

“Go to bed, Kaya,” He commanded her gently. “We have control now. It is safe for you to relax. Go to our quarters where it is safe. I will be sure they find you a bed.” He placed a gentle kiss on top of her head and purred low. “You did well last night. I am proud of you.”

 

Khan returned to his quarters hours later, exhausted yet still excited from their takeover of Bovet Station. He needed to wash and rest before he made his first official public appearance as the new commander of the station. Janna had the con and Joachim had teams searching the station for any possible insurgents. The station was finally safe enough for him to have some down time.

Khan smiled in appreciation as he entered his room and found a naked Kaya sprawled face down on his bed. His people served him well. They had known exactly where to put her when she had come to their quarters looking for a place to rest. He admired the sight of her smooth, pale skin glowing in the light coming through the partially open door. His gaze lingered on her lush ass, her soft thighs spread with one knee jacked a little higher than the other. If the light were better, he bet he would be able to see the pink of her pussy peeking out between the tops of her thighs.

Khan’s cock hardened, draining away the need for sleep. There were much better things he could do with his down time. And they all involved this woman in his bed. Most of their lovemaking had been fast and furious, the passion between them burning so hot and bright that he had never taken the time to truly admire her body. Now, with the evening upon them and quiet lying over their quarters, he would finally have the time to appreciate her as he desired.

He closed the door quietly behind him. The room slid into near darkness as Khan pulled his clothes off and crawled up the bed. Khan woke Kaya slowly, gently sliding his palms in a smooth massage from her shoulders to the bottom of her behind and back up. She stretched into his touch, humming softly in pleasure. He repeated the motion, this time cupping her ass in his hands and gently squeezing. God, he loved how soft she was, how smooth beneath his touch. He wanted to bite her, but instead settled for trailing soft kisses along one plump cheek. He felt her jerk the moment she woke.

“Khan?” She asked nervously into the dark.

“Yes,” He confirmed, and she relaxed, arching her back to push her behind into his touch.

“Good,” She murmured on a sigh as he went back to kissing her. Tickling flicks of his tongue trailed the underside of one curve, and she shivered beneath him. He smiled against her ass and gave into his impulse: he nipped her backside lightly trailing up the curve to the small of her back where he settled for smooth, swirling kisses against her intoxicating skin. She hummed her pleasure and stretched beneath him like a cat. He chuckled darkly at her obvious pleasure, the sound of her voice going straight to his cock.

Khan straddled her thighs and continued his exploration, biting and kissing and licking his way up her back. He slid her hair from her shoulders so he could mouth her neck, his breath coming faster as she rolled up into his touch. She lifted a hand and stroked it through his hair, pulling him forward as she arched her neck to kiss him. Kaya’s lips parted easily beneath his, still soft from sleep. She practically purred as she slid her tongue into his mouth, kissing him slowly, languidly.

“You’re magnificent,” He whispered in her ear, breaking their kiss. He recalled her flicking through battle sequences, picking off attacking ships one by one using her virtual interface. Half-naked yet collected, thinking of nothing but their victory. God, he loved her. He bit her shoulder at the base of her neck and she groaned. And so responsive… he loved that about her too. Mmmm… slow was all to the good, but he wanted to make her come for him before he slid deep inside her pussy.

Khan slid his knees between her thighs, forcing them wide beneath him as he kissed his way back down her body. He shifted as he went, moving down the bed until his shoulders were spreading her thighs farther apart, forcing her to come onto her knees a little to meet him. He cupped her ass cheeks and spread them wide, swirling his tongue between the half-moons, stopping for a moment to probe at the tight bud of her anus before sliding his tongue further down into her pussy. Kaya gasped and arched back into him, clearly pleased.

Her sweet pussy told him all he needed to know about her state. She was already wet and slippery as his tongue parted her from behind, sliding inside of her. She gave a strangled cry and buried her head in the pillow as he began fucking her with his tongue, pushing his face up into her, learning her folds with unhurried delight. She shook beneath him, arching up and up, and he slid his tongue forward to circle her swollen clit.

“Khan…” She managed in a strangled voice as he set to her with a will, flicking the tight bud with his tongue, sucking it with his lips, but never quite settling into one rhythm long enough to make her climax. She was writhing for him now, little choked sobs coming from above him. He finally took mercy on her and speared her clit with his tongue, lapping fast and lightly at her, feeling her tremors turn into shaking. He grasped her hips and dove into her, sucking her deep into his mouth and giving her all of the stimulation she needed. She bucked hard in his grasp as her orgasm flowed over her, but he held her in place with his superior strength, kept her at his mercy as he sucked her clit until she was reduced to a lovely, quivering mess, her juices coating his face as her final climax vibrated through her.

“Delicious,” He murmured in her ear as he guided his throbbing cock to her entrance. She was swollen and wet, and so soft as he sank into her with a groan. She sighed her approval and thrust her hips up to meet him. She was slick and tight around him, still shuddering from her last orgasm. He pulled back and gave a long, lazy thrust, feeling her clench around him.

“You feel so good…,” She sighed as he rolled out and back into her, his cock thick and needy as it speared into her body. Oh, she had no idea, he thought, surrounded by her luscious heat, the smell of her sex. He could stay here for days, fucking her slowly and deeply as he was now. His entire body hummed with shimmering pleasure as he increased his pace. And she met him, thrust for thrust, soft little cries jolting from her throat each time he pushed deep inside her. Those noises were better than the _avu_ , sending his lust spiking through him, his cock jerking as her pussy began squeezing around him frantically as she found her own release. He thrust harder, faster, meeting each clutch of her sex around him, feeling his balls draw up as his own orgasm hit him like a freight train, shooting from his cock, up into his spine, and setting every nerve on fire as it blew through him.

Khan held Kaya close as he slowly came back to reality. She was curled with her back to his chest, his cock still buried deep inside her. He stroked her lazily as they lay in the dark, considering his options.

“I find myself in need of a chief engineer,” He murmured silkily in her ear. “I promise fair wages and,” He flexed his hips teasingly, “Incomparable benefits.”

Kaya laughed throatily, joy springing up to fill her chest. She had no idea what the future would hold with this man, only that it would be interesting every step of the way.

“I accept.”

## The End

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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